Saving the World Again
by beoderro
Summary: Ash was treated by Team Rocket but he managed to escape, leaving his Pokemons behind him. Knowing Team Rockets evil plan and getting his Pokemons back, he start this dangerous mission with May. What will happen? Sorry, suck in summaries. Advanceshipping
1. Chapter 1

**First off, BIG thanks to _ShadowKing1988_**. **He is helping me with this story and I'm really grateful about that! I probably couldn't even make/start this whole story without him.**

**Secondly, I do not own Pokemon, or any character from it. _If_ I do, there would be more Advanceshipping!  
**

* * *

A young girl was walking road to Petalburg City. She was wearing a red shirt, shoes, black biker shorts, white mini-skirt, white-black cloves, a yellow fanny pack and a red bandanna. This girl also held a trophy. It wasn't just any ordinary trophy; it was only for the winner of Johto's Grand Festival. She smiled and took out a pokeball.

"Come out, Eevee," she said and threw it. A bright flash appeared from inside of the pokeball. Soon, there was little brown creature standing near her.

"Isn't this exciting?" she asked to her pokemon, who simply nodded. "I can't believe that they'd hold a party, just for me," the girl continued, a big smile on her face.

"I wonder how many people there are?" she asked, putting a finger on her chin. "Or who there would be…"

"Mom, Dad, Max, Professor Birch, and his son Brendan, at least. Drew said that he might come. Maybe Brock, Dawn and… " She started looking at the ground, blushing. _'No, why he would come, after I abandoned him twice?'_

"Eve?" her pokemon asked. Because of this, she snapped out of her thoughts.

"It's nothing, Eevee," she smiled to her pokemon. "I was just thinking…"

"Eve eevee"

"I wasn't thinking about him!" She started to blush and turned her face from Eevee's sight.

"Evee…"

"Oh, shut up…" she said and grabbed Eevee's pokeball. "I'm not in the mood to fight with you," the girl pointed the pokeball at her pokemon.

"Return." The pokeball shot a beam of red light towards Eevee and pulled it back into the pokeball.

After walking alone for a while, she reached Petalburg. It was one of the biggest cities in Hoenn. The girl continued walking towards her house. Many people came to congratulate her.

"May, I know that you could win it!" one of them said.

"That final battle was awesome!" Another person spoke up. "What else could you expect from the daughter of Petalburg's gym leader!"

"Thank you all…I guess," she thanked them, sweat dropping. "Sorry, I have to go on my house," she said, starting to run, waving back to them.

Finally she reached home. Her house was big, probably because of the Pokemon Gym, which was under the same roof.

"Home sweet home!" she declared and turned the doorknob. Inside, everything was dark and seemingly lifeless. The girl blinked her eyes. "I thought that they were having a party for me…"

May shut the door behind her and placed the trophy on the ground. Suddenly, the lights went on.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted. She looked really surprised. There was everyone here who she thought would be here, except one.

The first person who congratulated her was Drew. He had lost to her in the finals. "Great job, May." He pulled out a rose and gave it to her.

"Umm…thank you, Drew…"

"Congratulations, May!" her dad, Norman, said to her. "Your mother and I are so proud of you," he continued. Between her mother and father came a boy a few years her junior.

"Congratulations, sis!" her little brother Max said and hugged her.

"Well, thank you, Max," she spoke and hugged her brother back. Seconds later, May's stomach growled. She turned red with embarrassed and everyone started to laugh.

"Let's go to eat" Her mother, Caroline spoke. "I'm sure that you all are hungry."

They went to dining room, where there was a large assortment of various food items. May started to drool and sat down.

"This is great, Mrs. Maple!" Brock and Dawn said in unison. Everyone else agreed with them.

"Thank you. I'm glad that you like it," She answered to them. Then she saw that her daughter wasn't eating anything, just staring her food. "May, aren't you hungry?"

_'I knew that he wouldn't come…Maybe he just wasn't interested...'_ She thought, continuing to gaze at her plate.

"May? Aren't you hungry?" her mother repeated. May snapped out back to reality.

"What? Oh, I just am not as hungry as I thought…" May said to her mother.

"I see…Well, you can always eat later," was her mother's reply. May nodded and stood up.

She walked to her own room, placed her fanny pack onto a table and started to search for something. _'Where it is?'_ May thought and finally, she found what she was looking for. May sat down on her bed and looked at it. In her hand was her half of the pink Teracotta ribbon. _'Ash…'_ Memories start to flood in her mind. How many times had Ash helped her? How many times did he cheer her on when she needed it the most? And how she could leave him?

May let out a sigh and sat up. She put the ribbon back into her fanny pack and headed towards the living room.

After everyone finished eating, they were in living room where May rejoined them. Dawn asked many question about coordinator stuff. May was trying to answer all of them. At one point, there was a moment of silence.

"Can I ask where Ash is?" May decided to break silence. Brock and Dawn looked at her.

"Actually, May," Brock started. "We don't know." May looked at him with a perplexed face.

"What you mean by 'you don't know'?"

"Ash… He just vanished without a word…" Dawn trailed off.

"What?!" May blinked. Dawn was about to continue but Brock stopped her before she could.

"I'll explain," Brock took deep breath and began speaking.

**Flashback**

_"Come on, Ash," Dawn said to him. "'Always' is next year."_

_"I can't believe it…" Ash mumbled. "How could I lose to that guy?"_

_"Dawn is right," Brock placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. "Besides, you can always try again next year."_

_Ash moved Brock's hand off. "You guys don't have to try to cheer me up," he said, looking at ground._

_"Ash, we know that yo-" Dawn started but she was cut off by Ash._

_"How would you know?!?" Ash shouted to them. Brock and Dawn gawked him. "You weren't there!"_

_"Ash, calm down!" Brock replied. "Why are you taking this so hard?" Ash seemed to calm down._

_"Because they said if I lose this tournament," Ash started, tears starting come in his eyes, "I'd get punished and so would my closest friends."_

_"Who said that?" Dawn asked, taking a seat next to Ash._

_"How should I know?!" Ash snapped at her. "But now I lost…you guys can get hurt because of me…" Tears were rolling down his cheeks. Dawn pulled him into hug._

_"It isn't your fault."_

_"We can always ask Officer Jenny to help," Brock said. "Don't blame yourself!"_

_But Ash wasn't listening to them and broke off his hug with Dawn. He clutched his fists._

_"If even one of you gets hurt, I won't ever forgive myself!"_

_"We won't get hurt, Ash," Dawn said "I promise!"_

_"Can you please calm down now, Ash?" Brock asked._

_"…Yeah, I s'pose so," Ash answered. "It's late, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."_

_"Goodnight," Brock and Dawn said. Ash went to room, which he, Brock and Dawn shared. Back in lounge, Brock and Dawn continued their conversation._

_"Who you think it was?" Dawn asked._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean, who was making these threats to Ash?"_

_"I bet it was just somebody who gambles. And made a pretty sick wager."_

_"Oh, you mean someone betting on Ash to be the winner?"_

_"Something like that," Brock started. "And that someone was only scaring Ash with that punishment thing."_

_"I hope you are right," Dawn sighed. "Ash is really taking this hard."_

_Brock smiled before replying to Dawn._

_"That's how Ash is, always taking care of his friends."_

_Dawn let out a small laugh._

_"You're right."_

_"Let's go to sleep," Brock yawned. "I'm really worn out."_

_"Me too," Dawn agreed with Brock._

_They walked silently through the Pokemon Center, reaching their room. Brock opened door and saw Ash sleeping. Brock moved into his own bunk, which was above Ash's. Dawn shut the door behind her and walked towards her own bed. She was about to crawl under the covers, but then she saw Pikachu sleeping in her bed. Dawn let out a sigh and climbed to the upper bed. Soon all were in a state of deep sleep, or so it seemed._

_The following morning, Brock woke up and stretched. He got out of his bed. First thing he saw was that Ash wasn't in his bed. He also noticed that neither Pikachu nor Ash were around, and Ash's gear was missing from the room as well. Brock decided to wake up Dawn and climbed half way to Dawn's bed._

_"Dawn, wake up!" Brock cried while shaking Dawn to awaken her._

_"Oh, give me just five minutes more," Dawn mumbled. Brock let out sigh._

_"Dawn, Ash isn't in here!"_

_Dawn opened her eyes instantly. "What?! What do you mean?"_

_"Ash's backpack isn't here, either!" Brock said while climbing down. "And Pikachu is missing, too!"_

_"Maybe he is in cafeteria?" Dawn yawned and rubbing her eyes. Brock opened door._

_"I'll go check, you get ready."_

_When Brock got to the cafeteria, it was only to find that the raven-haired trainer and his companion weren't here. Brock spent the next several minutes searching as much of the area as he could, but still no sign of Ash was to be found._

_Clearly, Ash had given them the slip and made a break for it._

**End of Flashback**

"And we didn't find him anywhere, and his mother didn't know where he would be" Brock said. Everyone appeared shocked by this revelation, especially May.

"I hope he is alright," She managed to say. _'I really hope he is…'_

"You know Ash, he will be okay!" Norman said, placing his hand on May's shoulder. "Don't worry about him."

"Your father is right," Caroline said. Everyone else was in agreement.

"Guess you're right…" May said. "I go take a little walk, I'll be back soon." She got up and walked out the door.

"May is taking this quite hard," Brock said. Drew decided to speak.

"I didn't think that she cared about him that much!" Everyone blinked at his last statement, unsure of whether they had heard him correctly.

"What?" Drew asked. Caroline started to walk towards the kitchen.

"I believe that May really cares about Ash," she said with a smile.

'May can't like him!' Drew thought. 'She likes me!'

"Well, I have to go" Drew spoke and flipped his hair. A moment later, he was out of sight.

"Guess I have to get going, as well," Dawn said. "Goodbye and thank you for inviting me!"

Dawn's departure was the first of several that followed. Without the guest of honor present, there wasn't much point in continuing the gathering.

May was walking on beach. _'Dad is right,'_ she thought while watching far to sea. _'I don't have anything to worry about, do I?'_ May sat down on sand._ 'But what if something has happened to him? I never even got to tell him what I felt deep down...' _May realized what she was thinking and start to shake her head _'No, May! Don't think like that, he is alive'_ she stopped shaking and resumed her vigilant watch of sea once more. _'Somewhere…'_

Suddenly she noticed something drifting towards the beach. May saw could see a humanoid figure, lying motionlessly in the water. She got up and walked slowly towards it. By now, May could tell this was indeed a person, a young man by appearance. His clothes were shredded. She moved closer to him. Now she saw a number of cuts, gashes, and other superficial injures across his body. May kneeled beside him and gently turned him that she could see his face. May was shocked by what she saw.

"…Ash?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Flashback_

_"We did have a deal," said a mysterious man. "And you didn't do your part."_

_"I never consented to that!" Ash shouted to him._

_"Don't you shout at me!" The man spoke up and looked straight into Ash's eyes. "Or do you want to start your punishment now?" Ash went silent._

_"That's why I came in here," Ash started to speak. "Please, don't hurt anyone."_

_"Well, aren't you selfless!" The man began to laugh. "But I'll do what I want to do."_

_Ash gritted his teeth. He was going to say something but…_

_"You know, kid," his captor continued, turning away from him. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed that you found us."_

_"It wasn't hard," Ash spoke. "Team Rocket have never been all that complex to figure out, anyway."_

_"Maybe so," the man stood up. "Okay, I promise that we won't hurt anyone."_

_"Really?" Ash blinked. "That's hard to believe…"_

_"We don't have much time," the man spoke up, placing a hand behind his back. "You see, we have big project and an impending deadline that must be met." Ash knew that it wouldn't be good._

_"What kind of project?" He asked. Chuckling in a sinister tone, the captor turned to face his helpless captive._

_"Well, aren't you curious," he smiled. "I don't see any harm in telling you."_

_He took deep breath. "You see, there are six keys and each key is important to us."_

_"Why?" Ash asked._

_"Let me finish. With those keys, we can open the doorway to where the strongest pokemon alive dwells. Arceus."_

_"How do you plan to capture it?" Ash blinked. The mysterious man shot Ash an annoyed look._

_"Stop cutting me off! We have invented device, which makes it possible. And when we have captured Arceus, the whole world will know Team Rocket."_

_"So you're going to use it to do bad things?"_

_"Maybe."_

_Ash gritted his teeth more._

_"Don't you fear that I would tell this to police or something?" Ash asked._

_"I don't, just as I don't fear telling you how long your punishment's going to take!" the man said and sat back in his chair._

_"What do you mean?" Ash asked again._

_"You ask too many questions!" the man snapped his fingers and two Team Rocket grunts came. "Take this kid to his room."_

_One of grunts grabbed Ash and another one took Pikachu._

_"What I do with this?" he asked to his superior._

_"Take it to same place where his other pokemon are."_

_"Right."_

**_End of Flashback_**

Ash slowly started to open his eyes. The pain in his head was awful. He noticed that he had bandages all over his body.

_'Where I am?' _he thought, looking around. There wasn't anybody in the vicinity.

Ash tried to sit up but pain stopped him. Then the door opened. May peeked inside the room where Ash was.

"You're awake! That's great!" she exclaimed happily. Ash turned his head and saw May.

"May?" he asked in confusion. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," May explained as she took a seat next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Ash answered honestly, still feeling confused. "What happened?"

"I don't know, honestly. I found you on beach, looking like you'd had a rough time of it, and my first impulse was to bring you here," May started, tears starting to come in her eyes. "You were in such bad shape, I was worried about your survival…"

"May…"

"Ash, don't you remember anything?"

"Well…" he was trying to remember. "Last thing I remember was that I jumped off a plane. Or maybe I fell or got pushed out."

"…A plane?" May asked.

"Yea and I dropped down into the sea."

"Anything else?"

"Not really, though - Ughhh!" Ash growled as a spasm of pain coursed through his body.

"Ash, what's wrong?" May shrieked worriedly and was about to go off and find a nurse, but this proved unnecessary – a nurse already rushed into the room and began checking on the bedridden trainer.

"What's wrong with him?" May asked, not taking her eyes off Ash for one second.

"It's nothing serious, just a pain spasm. All the same, it's time for his next dose of painkillers," the nurse said, filling a small syringe and inserting the sharp needle into his arm. Moments later, Ash seemed to relax.

May sighed with relief and sat back in her chair.

"This can happen anytime, so don't freak out when it does," the nurse said, smiling as she left the room.

Ash was feeling dizzy for a few minutes, thanks to the medicine that the nurse gave him. Once he felt recovered enough, he attempted to resume his end of the conversation.

"By the way, May…" Ash started.

"Yeah, what it is?"

"Congratulations on winning the Grand Festival," Ash smiled to her.

"Thank you, Ash," May smiled back to him warmly. "But I couldn't have done it without my wonderful companions."

Ash chuckled before he realized something.

"Oh no!" Ash exclaimed, trying to sit up.

"What?" May watched him as he tried to get up.

"My pokemon! Where are they?!" Ash shouted. May pushed him back to bed.

"Calm down, Ash."

"How I can calm down?!? They have my pokemon!"

"Who is 'they'?"

"I really don't know…" Ash started to calm down. "But they have my pokemon…"

"Ash, we'll get your pokemon back soon enough," May winked. "Trust me."

Ash was staring at her. Slowly, a smile came on his face - he could always trust May.

"Really? Thank you!"

"No problem, Ash!" May began to caress his hair. "I know that you have been going through a lot lately."

"I never knew that you'd take this so hard…"

"Of course, you are important to me."

Ash was amazed. _'Me? Important to her?'_

He and May talked about many things, such as what they had done on their respective journeys. May told him about different contest, and Ash told her about his gym battles. May glanced at the clock and realized how fast time went.

"Sorry, Ash," May said. "But I have to go now."

"It's okay, May."

May leaned closer to Ash and gave him a kiss on forehead.

"Get well soon!"

"I will…" Ash stammered. May walked towards the doorway and opened it.

"See ya tomorrow," she said with a smile.

"See ya…"

May closed door behind her and Ash stared at the ceiling. A weird feeling was stirring within him.

_'May…'_

He closed his eyes and soon, he was sleeping.

The next morning, Ash woke up. He looked around. There was a nurse accompanied by a pair of Blisseys.

"Oh, good morning, Ash! How are we feeling today?" the nurse asked him.

"Good morning, I feel fine," he yawned.

"Well, now that you're awake, I'll explain what we are planning to do next," the nurse was about to explain, but then the door opened.

"Can I come in?" Ash could hear a girl's voice.

"Certainly." The nurse replied as the owner of the voice entered the room. Now Ash could see who it was.

"Hi, May!" Ash said with smile and May walked over to the bedside.

"Hi, Ash!" She replied. "Your mother sent these for you," she started, showed him a briefcase.

"What is this?"

"Your clothes," May spoke while putting the case on the floor. "Your old ones were shredded beyond salvation."

"Thank you," He smiled.

"No problem!" May smiled back and asked the nurse, "So what's next?"

"I was just about to begin explaining it to Ash," the nurse said and started speaking again. "These two Blisseys are trained to heal human wounds," she pointed at the two Blisseys next to her.

"Umm…I've heard that it's painful!" May said to the nurse. She nodded.

"It might sting, true, but your wounds will be healed that much quicker."

Ash was silent. _'More pain?'_ he thought._ 'As if I haven't had enough already…'_

"So, what do you think, Ash?" the nurse asked. May was staring at Ash, expectancy mixed with pity._ 'Just like Ash haven't got enough pain'_

"It's okay with me," he answered, "but I won't be fully healed?"

The nurse shook her head sadly.

"No, you've taken quite a beating, young man. Your blood pressure is below what it should be," she said. "That's why this procedure is so critical."

"Do you know when he'll be able to walk again?" May questioned. The nurse put one finger on her chin.

"His charts suggest that he is able walk right away, but I suggest that you rest for the day."

"Okay," he nodded.

"Well then, let's get started," the nurse said.

May grabbed Ash's hand squeezed it.

"It will soon be over," May said in an attempt to console him. Ash gave her a smile and gently squeezed her hand back.

The two pokemon on either side of the bed started to heal. Bright light was covering Ash's body.

Then the pain came in strong pulses. Ash shut his eyes tightly. He started squeezing May's hand harder. Flinching slightly, she looked on helplessly at her suffering friend.

"It'll be over soon, Ash…"

Wounds started to disappear. Soon, there was not a single blemish on Ash's flesh. The creatures stopped and the nurse returned them to their respective pokeballs. She turned to Ash who was breathing heavily now, May holding his hand.

"It's over now, young man," she smiled. "You doing alright?"

Ash started to catch his breath.

"Yeah, I think so…" He noticed that he was still squeezing May's hand. "Sorry…" He said to her and released his grip while smiling sheepishly.

"It's okay," May insisted.

The nurse and her left room, leaving the two of them alone.

Ash was lying in his bed and May was sitting in the bedside chair.

"May, you know you don't have to be here with me," Ash said. "I'm fine on my own, you know."

May stared at him. "No, Ash," she started. "It's no trouble, really!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

_'Should I tell him now that I love him…No; he is still in weak condition. I could tell him tomorrow…'_ May thought while staring Ash.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" She asked him sweetly.

"Tomorrow, after I get out of here?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know…" He started staring at the ceiling. "I have to get my pokemon back still…"

"Can I come with you?" May asked shyly, blushing slightly.

"I dunno, it might be dangerous," he said to her. "I don't want to risk your life on my behalf."

"Please, Ash!" she begged him. "I want to come."

Ash watched her deep blue puppy-dog eyes. He couldn't resist that look and let out a sigh of defeat.

"Okay then, but just stay close to me!"

Suddenly May locked Ash in a tight hug. "Thank you, Ash!"

"Umm…No problem…" Ash said while blushing.

It was almost 1:00 A.M. May had gone home hours ago. Ash was just lying in his bed, hands behind his head. He couldn't get any sleep.

_'Tomorrow is big day; I should call Professor Oak to transfer some of my pokemon.'_

Ash then thought,_ 'Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Swellow...hmm…I haven't used Snorlax in a while…and Sceptile'_

He smiled to himself. _'Pikachu, don't worry. I will save you.'_

Ash closed his eyes. He was still trying to get some sleep.

_'I wonder if May is asleep now…'_ He opened his eyes suddenly.

_'Why am I still thinking about May…Is this that what Brock called 'love'?'_

Ash stared at the ceiling and remembered how he felt around May.

_'I never felt that way before…Yeah, I'm love in May.'_

He closed his eyes again, and was finally able to drift to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Bright sunlight came straight to Ash's eyes. He mumbled something and pulled the pillow over his head, protecting his eyes from that sunlight. Suddenly, somebody grabbed that pillow and removed it. Ash started rubbing his eyes and yawned.

"It's time to wake up," he heard someone saying. "We have big day ahead."

"Yea yea…" Ash stretched. May was looking at him from the front of his bed. Ash sat up and looked at May, who was still staring at him.

"What?" Ash asked her but she just smiled.

"Oh, nothing."

"Okay, then…" Ash stood up and started feeling dizzy. He took a few steps but then he started losing his balance, falling back. May rushed and saved Ash from dropping to the floor.

"You shouldn't start so fast!" May said, helping Ash back to his feet.

"Guess you're right…" Ash admitted. His stomach growled, resulting in him placing a hand behind his head in embarassment.

"Why don't we go to the cafeteria?"

"Sure thing!" She answered with a smile. "I didn't eat breakfast, anyway."

Soon the two of them walked to the cafeteria. May helped Ash with walking, which still seemed to be little difficult for him. Finally, they arrived at the cafeteria. Ash and May both helped themselves to a couple of sandwiches. They searched for a nice spot in the hall, where other people were eating. May placed Ash onto seat and took her own place on the other side of the table from him.

"May, thank you for helping me," Ash said with a mouth full of food. "I don't know what I would do without you." May started to blush.

"It's okay, Ash," she said as she started eating. "I'm sure that you would help me if things had worked out the other way around."

"You bet, and in fact, I'm willing to reimburse your portion of the bill, too!"

"You don't have to…"

"Don't be so modest, I won't take no for an answer!"

While they were eating, Ash started to remember Team Rocket's plan. 'Oh, I must go to Police station soon…Hope I'm not too late,' Ash though and stopped eating. May noticed this and started pelting Ash with questions.

"Are you worried about your pokemon?"

"Maybe little…but I know that Pikachu and others can take care themselves," Ash answered. Knowing his pokemon, they were alright.

"So, where is this place?" May continued to ask questions.

"Huh? What place?"

"I mean, where are we going?"

"It is Team Rocket's base."

May blinked her eyes.

"Team Rocket captured you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where this place is?" she asked. Ash put finger on his chin.

"If I remember right, they relocated to some spot near LaRousse City."

'Ugh…LaRousse City…' May thought, recalling vividly who lived there. "Do you know how we get there?"

Before Ash could answer, somebody chimed in.

"How do you get where?" asked a green-haired boy, taking a seat next to May.

"Oh hi, Drew…" May greeted. "We were thinking about how we can get to LaRousse City."

"Why? Because yours truly is from LaRousse?" Drew remarked, flipping his hair.

'Like I didn't know' May thought and took glance at Ash. He was just staring at the table.

"If you want to, I'd be more than glad to help," Drew said while moving closer to May.

"Umm…It's fine with me, what do you think about that, Ash?"

Ash was still staring at the table. 'Why am I feeling like this when Drew is close to May…Does May like Drew?'

"Ash?" May crossed her hands over the table and gently shook him. Ash came back to reality, albeit becoming confused as to the current topic of discussion.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of Drew accompanying us?" She asked sitting back to her place.

'Drew is coming with us!?!' Ash blurted, eyes wide open now. "…I guess it is OK…" he finally said and stood up.

"Where are you going? You shouldn't go anywhere alone!" May called to him right away.

"I'm fine now, you don't have worry about me! I'm going to make a call to Professor Oak and then visit the Police Station," he said to her without looking. He then began moving away.

"Ash, what are you planning to do at the Police Station?" May tried asking him, but he was already out of earshot. Drew smiled contentedly at himself.

"I have to get packing," May said and stood up, but Drew stopped her.

"Did I tell you that you're looking particularly beautiful today? Because we both know it's true!" He said, pulling out a rose from hammerspace.

"…No…but thank you, I guess…" she spoke awkwardly and took that rose. Soon she was running to her house. 'Stupid Drew…Why does he have to be like that…'

Back with Ash

"Thank you, Professor," Ash thanked the elderly professor. "At least I still have these guys around."

"Ash, you are aware that this undertaking of yours has serious consequences, right?" Professor Oak reminded him through videophone. "Your mother is really concerned about you, after all."

Ash smiled and put all the received pokeballs into their slots in his belt.

"I know, but I don't have any other choice," Ash said to Oak, who sighed in response. "I have to go now, tell Mom that I'm okay for me!" he exclaimed, then proceeded to turn off the videophone and begin searching for the Police Station.

With May

May was already packed and waiting for Ash. Caroline came to talk with her.

"So, where are you going?" She asked her daughter.

"Umm…" May started, but then thought better of confessing the true nature of her quest. 'I can't tell her that I'm going to dangerous trip – she might never let me journey on my own ever again!'

"Just a simple camping trip, that's all!"

Her mother started to raise her eyebrows.

"Really?" she said while sitting down May's bed. "You know you can't lie to me. I'm your mother, and I know when you're being honest, young lady!"

May gulped. She knew that her mother always knew when she was lying. She sat next to her mother. May took a deep breath and started to explain what they were doing. After telling her their plans, her mother sighed.

"You know that is dangerous, don't you?"

"Of course," May said, averting her gaze to the floor. "But I don't want to leave Ash again… "

"Because you love him," Her mother finished. May started to blush heavily.

"Mom!"

"I'm not right?" This simple question had May blushing more and more.

"Well…" She sighed in defeat. "You're right, I love Ash."

Her mother was smiling. 'Young love, nothing is more beautiful.'

"Ash is great boy, he can protect you…You know, that reminds me of when your father and I first started going out. Ah, those were some wonderful days…"

Caroline stared remembering, eyes sparking.

"Yeah…Ash is great…" May remembered all those times Ash saved her.

Caroline sat up and walked towards the door. Before she made her exit, she turned to May, who was still sitting upon her bed.

"You have to tell Ash sooner or later, dear. The sooner, the better, or so they say." Her mother said and walked out, closing the door behind her. May fell back on her bed so that she was facing the ceiling.

'Mom is right, I have to tell him…but what if he doesn't feel the same way?'

Police Station

After Ash told the attending Officer Jenny that Team Rocket was going to use the legendary pokemon Arceus in their bid to conquer the world, she shook her head.

"What?! You don't believe me?" Ash shouted, slamming a hand on the table.

"Unless there's any solid evidence or suspicion of this conspiracy, there's little I can do start an investigation," Officer Jenny said. Ash just stared with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"So you aren't doing anything?"

"No. I'm sorry," came the simple answer.

"Well then," Ash said as he began walking towards the door. "Guess I have to stop them myself." He then left the station, slamming the door shut behind him.

'Now, to May's house. Drew is probably there already…'

May's house

The doorbell was ringing. "I got it!" May ran down stairs and almost stumbled. Finally, she reached the door and opened it. Disappointment crawled over her face.

"Oh, it's you."

"Who did you expect? Ash?" Drew chortled to her, oblivious to her disappointment.

"Actually, I kinda was," May answered and let Drew inside. They walked to the living room and sat down. May offered a drink to him and they soon began making small talk.

"When is he coming?" Drew asked, though his attention was more on the various fixtures of the room. "We don't have much time to wait him, LaRousse is a considerable distance from here."

"He will come soon, I know it." At that moment, the doorbell rang again. May stood up and went to open it. This time, it was precisely who she'd been expecting all along.

"You finally came! You sure took your sweet time getting here," May teased a little bit.

"…Was I supposed to be here at a specific time?" Ash asked in confusion.

"No, I was just teasing," she giggled. "Drew is already here, just so you know."

"What a surprise that is," Ash mumbled under his breath. Drew then appeared at the doorway.

"Well, I do believe that we're all here, so let's get going already!"

"Okay," May agreed. "Ash, could you take our food?"

"Of course," he said smiling and placed all their food into his backpack. "Well, let's go, then."

They started to walk towards LaRousse City. Will there be any trouble on their journey? Or will everything go like they have planned?


	4. Chapter 4

Ash, May, and Drew started their trip to Team Rocket's base, which was located near LaRousse City. Ash was going to get his pokemon back and stop Team Rocket's plans. May joined with him because she didn't want to leave him again and Drew came to guide them to LaRousse. The trip was going peacefully for almost every one of them.

"Hah! I don't believe you!" May said to Drew, pushing him playfully. She and Drew was talking about contest-related things since they left and Ash was quite in the dark about what they talked of.

"Believe me, I once did it." Both of them laughed. Ash watched from behind them and sighed.

_'May sure seems to be having fun with Drew…'_

May looked back to see Ash. He seemed to be little down about something and decided to ask.

"Are you okay, Ash?"

"I'm just fine," he snapped at her. May surprised that Ash was snapping at her and stopped walking. Drew also stopped and both were staring at Ash.

Drew then walked straight past them.

"We have to keep moving."

They resumed walking again. May and Drew continued their conversation. But May wasn't as interested in it as she was moments before.

_'What is wrong with Ash, he don't usually snap like that…'_

Suddenly, an explosion shook the ground nearby and a hot-air balloon showed up. There were three figures in it. One of them had long red hair, a second had blue hair and the third was a small, feline-looking creature.

[Skipped Intro]

It didn't take long for Ash to figure out who these troublemakers were.

"Team Rocket!" he shouted. "What do you want? I don't have Pikachu with me."

"Who said that we came here for Pikachu?" the red-haired woman, Jessie, shouted back.

"We got us a new mission!" the scratch cat pokemon, Meowth, continued.

"Now we have to capture you!" the blue-haired male, James, ended and he and Jessie released Seviper and Cacnea.

"What!?! Why?" Ash seemed surprised and so did May.

"Our boss commands us, that's why!" Jessie shouted. "Seviper, grab that twerp!"

Ash took out a pokeball containing one of his pokemon.

"Let's go, Sceptile!" He threw a pokeball, from which a large green lizard-like pokemon appeared.

"Leaf blade on Seviper!" The attack hit directly and sent Seviper sailing through the air towards the balloon. This resulted in the balloon crashing towards the ground. The ever-resilient Rockets, however, were still primed to battle to the bitter end.

"Cacnea, use Pin Missile!" James shouted to his pokemon.

"Oh, no you don't!" May stood next to Ash. "Beautifly, give 'em a show of your Gust attack!"

Beautifly's Gust stopped Pin Missiles and sent them back to Team Rocket.

"Oh! You twerps are really starting to vex me!" Jessie spoke as she recalled Seviper. "James, now it's time to introduce our new pokemon."

James grinned and recalled Cacnea. "Okay, then! Prepare to meet the newest members of the Team Rocket crew!" He and Jessie grabbed another pokeball from each of their belts.

_'This can't be good,'_ Ash thought. May had similar thoughts. Drew watched the conflict from a distance.

"Let go, Electivire!" James shouted and threw his pokeball.

"Go, Magmortar!" Jessie did the same as James. Two large pokemon appeared.

"Use Thunder Punch on that Sceptile!" James commanded Electivire.

"Sceptile, Leaf blade!" The two attacks hit together and resulted in a huge explosion. After the smoke vanished, both pokemon were still standing.

_'Oh no…they have strong pokemon.'_

"Magmortar, use Flamethrower on Beautifly!"

"Beautifly, dodge it!" May shouted to her pokemon, but too late. The flamethrower attack hit head-on and made Beautifly drop straight into May's arms.

"Beautifly, are you okay?" Beautifly nodded weakly, and after thanking it for its hard work, May recalled it. "I'm sorry, Ash," she lamented, a few tears started to come in her eyes.

"It's okay, May," Ash spoke as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I can handle this, you go keep an eye on Drew." May wiped her tears and looked him.

"What? Why? I do have other pokemon…"

"May, just go…I'd rather you stay out of harm's way, at least for now." Ash took his hand off her shoulder and turned away from her. "Drew can protect you."

"B-but-"

"You two go on ahead to the next Pokemon Center, we'll catch up with you there," Ash said without looking at her. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Promise?" May asked, trying to establish eye contact with him.

"I promise, just go!" May nodded and went to with Drew. They started running towards the next Pokemon Center. Ash turned to Team Rocket and grabbed another pokeball to his belt.

"Go, Totodile!" The Big Jaw pokemon came in sight. "You're never going to capture me, Team Rocket!" Ash then shouted at the three villains.

"We'll see about that, Twerp!" James and Jessie said in unison.

"Electivire, Thunderbolt!"

"Magmortar, Flamethrower!"

Two attacks came towards Ash.

"Totodile, intercept with Hydro Pump and Sceptile, use those trees to dodge!"

Hydro Pump hit with Flamethrower, but Thunderbolt came through. The electrical attack nearly made contact with Totodile. Luckily, Sceptile was able to deflect the bolt with a few bullet seeds. Thunderbolt hit ground, blasting sand everywhere.

_'I have to take this carefully, they are lot stronger now'_ Ash thought while trying to figure out what to do next.

"Sceptile, use Leaf blade on Magmortar!"

"What are you thinking, Twerp? Grass types are weak against Fire types! I thought you'd have known that!" Jessie laughed. "But what do I care? Magmortar, give 'em a show of your Fire Punch!"

_'Please, Sceptile, try to hang on…'_

Again, two attacks hit together. The fiery punch was burning Sceptile.

"Now, Totodile, get in there with Quick Attack!"

Totodile used Quick Attack to get past Electivire. "Use Hydro Pump on Magmotar!" A strong jet of water shot from Totodile's mouth like a fire hydrant and hit home with the imposing fire-type. Magmortar, consequentially, was unable to continue deflecting Sceptile's barrage, and one of the tall grass-types glowing-green blades hit Magmortar with a sickening force.

_'This is going to be long battle,'_ Ash thought.

"No, Magmortar!" Jessie looked in shock at her pokemon and turned James.

"What are you just standing there for?! I can't win this myself, you know!"

"Oh, sorry…" James sheepishly apologized as he snapped out of his trance-like state. "Electivire, use Thunder!"

A huge bolt of lightning struck the ground, causing a massive explosion and kicking up a thick cloud of dust and smoke.

**With May and Drew**

"Do you know where the Pokemon Center is?" May asked Drew while running alongside him.

"It's not far from where we are right now, if I remember right," Drew panted as he came to a halt. May stopped next to him.

"You're not in good shape, you know that?" she teased him. Drew glared at her in response.

"I haven't adjusted to running, that's all!" he spoke as he continued to try to catch his breath. May giggled before taking a look at the surroundings.

"I wonder how Ash is doing…" she wondered aloud.

"I'm sure he is fine…" Drew opined with a flick of his chartreuse hair. "Let's find that Pokemon Center." May nodded as the two got moving once again.

**Back with Ash**

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade once more!" Sceptile moved to strike Electivire, but the electric behemoth grabbed its weapon before the blow could be dealt.

"Sceptile, try to free yourself!" Ash shouted to his pokemon, who was now in big trouble.

"Use Thunder, full power!" Electivire launched a strong electric attack while still keeping a helpless Sceptile in its grasp.

"No!" Ash started to run towards them.

Sceptile screamed in pain as electrical currents jolted through its body. Electivire then threw it into the nearest tree, crashing with great force. Ash and Totodile rushed up next to it.

"Sceptile, I'm so sorry…" Ash wept, tears starting to flood his eyes. Whenever his pokemon were hurt badly, he felt the fault was his own. He reasoned that he was responsible for his partners' suffering.

"I shouldn't have pushed you so hard," Sceptile looked up at its trainer and merely shook its head as if to say 'It's not your fault'. Only then did his tears cease to fall from his eyes.

"I'll get you to a Pokemon Center soon, Sceptile. I promise." He took Sceptile's pokeball and returned it to its own safe haven.

Jessie and James were watching him, all the while becoming restless.

"C'mon, twerp! Let's finish this!" Jessie prodded. "Or have you run out pokemon already?"

Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He wiped his tears and took out another pokeball.

"Go, Swellow!" The bird pokemon came out of its ball in a flash of light. "No, I'm not done yet!"

"Neither are we!" James fired back. "Electivire, use Iron Tail on that Swellow!"

"Strike back with Aerial Ace!"

Electivire nearly landed the powerful blow, but Swellow was able to take advantage of its agility and land the first strike against its foe. Electivire was knocked to the ground from the force with which it was hit. When smoke was cleared, it was unable battle anymore.

"What?!? With just one hit?!" James blurted, looking at his massacred pokemon. "That can't be possible!"

"Maybe that wouldn't have happened if you'd have pulled your weight a little more!" Jessie scolded. "I guess that means that I have to take him out. Let's go, Magmotar!"

_'Ughh…this can take forever.'_ Ash thought. _'I hope May is in safe hands right about now…'_

"Get ready, Totodile!"

**With May and Drew**

"Haven't we walked past this tree before?" May ask pointing to the tree which she was presently leaning on. They had not found the Pokemon Center yet, and to make things worse, they had the impression that they were going in circles. Drew took a look at the tree May had indicated.

"…I think that might be the case," he said in a low voice. May let out big sigh.

"We are lost, aren't we?"

"No…" Drew quipped. He began looking around for something and felt in luck when he spotted something. "Look there!" May looked to where Drew was pointing.

"The Pokemon Center at last!"

They went inside the Pokemon Center and there was Nurse Joy.

"Hello. How can I help you?"

May gave Beautifly's pokeball to the pink-haired nurse. "Could you heal my Beautifly? It's in really bad shape."

Nurse Joy took it and smiled. "That's why I'm here!" she exclaimed with a smile before taking the ball and walking into the treatment area. May and Drew went to sit in the lobby.

"Now we wait for Ash," May spoke while fixing her attention to the door.

**Back with Ash**

"Magmortar, use Lava Plume!"

_'Think, Ash, think…Totodile isn't enough fast to dodge'_ Then he got an idea.

"Swellow, give Totodile a lift outta there!" Swellow came in low enough that Totodile could jump on it. When it was securely seated atop the large bird's back, Swellow flew up high, dodging Lava Plume entirely.

"Darn it!" Jessie cursed. "I was sure that that would work!"

"Now, Totodile, use Water Pulse with full power!" The small blue pokemon jumped off Swellow and shot a powerful pulse of water at Magmortar. Magmortar could not evade the oncoming jetstream. Magmortar was unable battle when the smog cleared.

"How this can be?" Meowth addressed his two cohorts. "You two are worst trainers that I've ever seen!"

"Oh, like you'd have done any better?" Jessie countered, looking at Meowth with an unmistakable scowl.

"Jessie is right, Meowth," James continued. "You didn't even do anything!"

Ash was watching the fight and decided to step in.

"Is your boss still Giovanni?"

"Why would that be of any concern to you, Twerp? But if you insist, we'll say yes." Jessie stated in confusion. Ash started to search through his pokeballs.

"Just asking," he replied, grabbing one of his pokeballs. "And this is for what you did my Sceptile." He threw the pokeball in the air, and from it a large pokemon took form.

"Snorlax, Hyper Beam!" The normally snoozing giant opened its mouth and emitted an orange blast which, upon striking the Rockets, caused the usual explosion that sent them airborne.

"Oh no, what would the boss say about this?" James wondered. "We didn't capture him!"

"Let's just hope we don't get cleaning duty again," Jessie said offhandedly.

"We're blasting off again!" the troublesome trio cried as, in a flash of light in the sky, they disappeared from sight.

"Great job, all of you!" Ash thanked his pokemon and recalled them.

"Now where could that Pokemon Center be?" He thought aloud and started searching.

**Back at the Pokemon Center**

"Why hasn't Ash come yet?" May whispered to herself. "It's getting dark already."

"Maybe they captured him," Drew said, rather snidely, to May.

"Don't say that!" May retorted, feeling upset by Drew's remark.

"I said 'maybe'."

"But still…" May stared back towards the door. "Well, I'll just have to hope he's okay…"

Drew moved closer to May and carefully turned her gaze to meet his own.

"Drew, wha-" Before May could finish her sentence, Drew had leaned in and, much to her shock, kissed her on her lips. May's eyes were wide open. Just then, Ash walked inside and was not at all pleased by what they were doing. Quite the disturbing scenario for a return, indeed.

"May?"

She saw Ash and pushed Drew away, breaking off the kiss.

"Ash, it's not what you think!"

Ash was looking at her, though he wasn't sure how much longer he could gaze upon her. His heart felt sick and betrayed.

May quickly stood up and moved over to where a transfixed Ash stood.

"Ash, I didn't mean to kiss him! You must believe me!"

"But you still kissed him…" Ash finally managed to say.

"Ash, listen to m-"

"May, it's not my business who you kiss," he broke eye contact and give his pokemon to Nurse Joy. "If you like Drew, that's fine. It's not like I had much of a chance, anyway." A few tears dropped down his cheeks.

"But, Ash, I do-" Once again, May was interrupted before she could continue.

"You don't have to explain. I get it." Saddened, Ash prepared to move outside of the Pokemon Center, to grieve for what he considered a loss. May was starting to cry silently. She was about to stop Ash, but instead asked him, "Where are you going?"

"Outside…I need to think some things over." With that, Ash took his leave of the building. After that, May ran to her room crying. Drew decided to stay in the lobby, knowing that she would, sooner or later, be angry with him for what he had done.

**May's Room**

May was lying on her bed, still crying. Many thoughts flooded her mind.

_'Why did he kiss me?'_ Her face was buried in her pillow._ 'Now Ash think that I like Drew! And that's not even the truth!'_ Tears were flushing her cheeks. She buried her head even further into the cushiony pillow.

_'Stupid Drew, I won't ever forgive him if Ash doesn't want to be with me anymore!'_

**With Ash**

Ash was sitting upon a cold, rocky surface, thoughts racing through his mind. A few tears trickled down his face. Who knew love could hurt so much?

_'Why am I crying? It's May's life, and she can kiss whoever she wants. If she likes Drew, then she likes Drew. I can't change her mind, as much as I wish I could.'_

He stood up and watched the sun set.

_'Life always has its ups and downs. Maybe she and I weren't meant to be…'_

He wiped the last of the teardrops from his cheek.

_'Now I have to focus on Pikachu and my other pokemon.'_

Ash walked slowly back to the Pokemon Center. He supposed everyone else had fallen asleep by now. The doors opened in front of him and Nurse Joy turned to him.

"Your pokemon are fully healed."

"Thank you, and sorry that I didn't come sooner to get them."

"Oh, it's no problem, really!" Nurse Joy smiled like usual and walked off to her own chamber for the night. Ash put his pokeballs back to their places on his belt and searched for his room.

"13, 14, 15…there, 16!" he counted as he walked down the hall towards his room.

"Ash…" he heard a sweet voice beckon to him. Ash turned around and saw May. She was dressed in her night outfit, and the look on her face reflected upon her lingering sadness.

"May, why aren't you asleep?" Ash asked with a concerned voice.

"I wanted to talk with you…About what happened today," May spoke up and let a few more tears fall.

Ash really didn't want to talk about it, but when he saw how down May was, he really didn't have any other choice but to indulge her.

"Come in," he opened the door and guestured for May to enter first. She sat down on his bed. Ash sat next to her.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked when he saw that she was still crying. May didn't answer that question.

"Ash, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kiss Drew," she said while looking at the ground. "I was waiting you and suddenly, he just up and kissed me."

"May, were you really waiting me?" She looked into his amber eyes and nodded.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Ash smiled and pulled her into a hug. May buried her face into his chest, which made Ash blush slightly.

"I already forgave you, May," Ash whispered into her ear and tightened the hug.

May start sobbing and rested her head on his shoulder.

"T-thank you, Ash…"

"So, you don't like Drew?" he asked shyly. May stopped sobbing and broke the hug.

"No, Ash! I don't have any feelings towards him."

_'What a relief!'_ Ash cheerfully thought and could feel the smile on his face growing.

"But there is another boy…" May started, causing Ash to feel a sense of panic. "And I really like him."

Ash's jaw dropped. _'Another boy!?!'_

"And you know him…" She continued shyly.

"…Is it Brock?" Ash blurted out. May raised her eyebrows.

"No, silly!"

"Well, who is it, then?"

"Ash…" May took deep breath. "It's you. You're the boy I like!"

Ash stared blankly at her. Did she really feel for him after all? Happiness filled his heart.

"I have liked you since the day we met…" May started speaking. "And after all this time, it has only grown." Once more, May's eyes got lost in the warm depth of Ash's.

"Ash, I love you."

Ash was feeling like the happiest guy in the whole world.

"I love you too, May."

"You do?"

"When we first met, I didn't know what love felt like, or even what love really was," Ash started. "But when you went to Johto, when we were apart, something, almost a feeling, welled up inside me…like I didn't want you to leave. I felt this again after the Wallace Cup. And when you're close to me, I feel…different."

"I also feel different around you…and I'm sorry that I left you." It was May's turn to speak. "I went to Johto because I wanted to be a stronger and more talented trainer…like you are. If I have knew that you were going to Sinnoh, I would have come with you."

"The past is the past, May. What matters now is that we're together. Right here. Right now."

May began to cry again but this time, her eyes shed tears of joy. She threw her arms around Ash's neck and gave him a deep kiss. Ash placed an arm around her torso and placed a hand on May's back, pulling her even closer and deepening the kiss. The next few moments were pure bliss as their lips were firmly locked. Both opened eyes and smiled after they had broken apart for air.

"Can I sleep with you?" May asked her boyfriend. Ash looked down on his bed and saw how small it was.

"We'd have to be very close, if we want to fit in it at all. That isn't problem, is it?"

"Of course not," May spoke while going under covers. "You going to join me?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

The two managed to crawl under the covers and snuggled up on each other.

"Goodnight, May."

"Goodnight, Ash."

Soon they were in a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Ash and May were sleeping together. A sudden knocking at the door made Ash wake up. He saw that May was still sleeping against his chest, quietly snoring. The door opened, and Ash saw Drew standing in the doorway. Drew's jaw dropped when he saw Ash and May sleeping together.

'My May… sleeping… with that loser?' Drew thought as rage filled him. Ash turned to face Drew and whispered to him.

"So, what's up?"

"We have to go soon," Drew turned away, flipping his hair. "Or do you even want to find your pokemon?"

"Speak quietly, I don't want May waking up yet," Ash silently hissed and looked to see if May was still sleeping. "And of course I want to find them!"

"Well then, you'd better be getting ready," Drew stated, turning to leave the room. "I'll wait ten minutes, then I'm off. With or without you." With that, Drew walked out through the door way and out of sight.

Ash turned to May and stroked her hair. He didn't want to wake her but there was no other choice at the moment.

"May? May, wake up. C'mon, we have to go now!"

"Huh?" May opened her eyes tiredly and soon buried her face back onto Ash's chest.

"I don't want to…" Ash heard her mumbling.

"C'mon, May, or Drew is gonna leave us here by ourselves!"

May muttered something, but Ash couldn't hear it.

"What?" Ash asked while lifting May's head up.

"I said, I don't care."

"But he can guid-"

Without warning, May was suddenly locking her lips on Ash's own. At first, Ash was shocked by this, being unprepared for any such move.

'Well, she is my girlfriend now, so I guess she could kiss me any time she wants…'

"You win, I don't want to fight with my boyfriend," She spoke in a cheerful tone as she broke the kiss. "I gotta change my clothes, but I'll meet up with you in the lobby."

"Okay, I'll get ready too," Ash said to her and stood up. Just as he was about to head out of the room, May stopped him for another quick kiss.

"I'll be quick," she said and ran off. Ash sighed as he had an epiphany about how energetic she could be in the mornings.

Ash arrived at the lobby and looked around the area. A few people were sitting on benches, talking about various subjects. Ash kept looking around vigilantly for Drew.

'Where Drew did go?' he thought. He decided to ask Nurse Joy – perhaps she'd seen the chartreuse-haired coordinator.

"Excuse me," Ash began, "have you seen a green-haired guy around, by chance?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have," Nurse Joy answered. "Which reminds me: he said that he had something important to do, and furthermore –"

For whatever reason, Ash zoned out of the rest of Joy's ramble, coming back to the conversation as the nurse was finishing with her statements.

"Thank you so much, Nurse Joy," he nodded and sat down on a nearby sofa, waiting for May.

'I wonder where Drew got off to…Maybe there's a map around here somewhere?'

"Ash, I'm ready now," May came up beside him and gave yet another quick kiss to his lips. "Where is Drew, by the way?"

"He went to do something important. At least, that's what Nurse Joy told me," Ash answered.

May blinked her eyes out of confusion at what she'd heard.

"What? But…But our trip to LaRousse…"

"What about it?"

"…How will we get there now?"

"I'm sure that Nurse Joy has a map somewhere…"

May took the opportunity to kiss Ash yet again (he was beginning to lose track of just how many times she'd kissed him this morning). This one, however, was different. It was deeper and more passionate than its precursors. The two ended the moment a short time later for breath and both smiled sweetly at each other.

"If you don't mind me asking this…Why are you kissing me so much?" Ash asked with a shy tone in his voice.

"I like kissing you. Why?" May backed up and had a hurt look on her face. "Don't you like it?"

"No! I mean, yes, I like kissing you too, really!" He said nervously. "It's just that…I haven't gotten used this yet."

May leaned back towards Ash. A smile came back to her face. "You will get used to it soon." Next thing either one knew, they were sharing another passionate kiss.

"Umm…sorry to interrupt you," May and Ash quickly put a respectable distance between themselves as they turned to face Nurse Joy. "But were you talking about going to LaRousse City?"

"Yeah," they said in unison and blushed lightly as they realized this.

"And you need a map?"

"Yes. It seems our friend has left us," May spoke up. Nurse Joy took out a small book and sketched something. She then ripped the page out and handed it to them.

"Here, I've drawn up a map for you. I hope it's legible enough that you don't get lost!"

"Thank you so much, Nurse Joy!" Ash thanked her. Nurse Joy smiled and walked back to her desk.

"Should we get going, then?" May asked and got up, Ash following suit.

"Yeah." Just then, both of their stomachs growled. Ash placed a hand behind his head and chuckled embarrassedly. "What do you say we eat first?"

"Sounds good to me!"

They walked into the cafeteria and consumed their breakfast. When both had sated their hunger, they began their journey, hand-in-hand, towards LaRousse City.

"Ash, can I ask you something?" May decided to start a conversation.

"Sure."

"What are you going to do after we get your pokemon back?" This question left Ash to ponder his response.

"I really don't know yet," he admitted, "but if something does come up, I'll be with you."

A smile came to her face as she locked Ash into a tight embrace.

"We are going to be together forever," the brunette-haired coordinator said while nuzzling the trainer's chest.

"Until death do us part," he spoke and started stroking her hair. However, the part about death left May feeling uncomfortable, and consequentially, she broke the embrace.

"I don't think that I could live with myself if you died," she spoke in a serious tone. The raven-haired boy pulled her into another hug and comforted her.

"I'm not going to die, so don't worry about it!"

"But still," May shed a single tear, "if something were to happen to you…"

"May, don't think like that!" The two stopped walking at this point in the conversation. "I can't leave you alone in this cruel world. I won't leave you alone."

She was roused from her melancholy stupor and hit Ash playfully on the shoulder. "Do you think that I can't survive without you, hm?" They started walking again. "Because it's true…I can't!"

"I'm sure that you could if you wanted to," Ash teasingly replied. "But now we are together, so let's not think about those things."

"You are right." May broke the hug and pecked Ash's lips. "We'll just live in the moment."

The lovers walked the whole day, but for all their journeying, they still had not reached their destination. It was already getting dark when May got an idea.

"Ash, we should start camp, don't you think?"

He looked around and noticed how dark it was.

"Yeah, let's find some nice spot to settle down at for the night."

A few minutes later, they found a lake and decided to camp on its shore. Ash removed his backpack, took out some food, and handed half the portions to May. Both sat down beside each other and started eating.

"Isn't that lake beautiful?" The brunette said while gazing at the lake's surface, glistening as the waves reflected the moonlight. "Whaddya say we go for a swim?"

"But it's dark already, and the water is freezing!" Ash rejected her idea.

May decided to use her secret weapon and look straight to Ash's eyes with her captivating puppy-eye look.

"Please, Ash, I don't want to go alone," she pleaded.

'Damn those eyes,' Ash thought and sighed. "Fine, you win. We can go swimming." His girlfriend gave him a smile and stood up.

"Let's go, then!" She said and helped Ash up.

May started removing her clothes. Ash's eyes popped wide opened.

"May! You can't change front of me like this!" He exclaimed.

"I have my swimsuit on under my clothes, silly!" May giggled and removed her outfit to reveal her emerald-colored swimsuit. "Did you really think that you'd get to see me nude after we have been together only few days?" She winked at Ash, who stared at her with his mouth agape.

"Now where are your swim trunks, or do you not have them?"

"Of course I have them, they are under my trousers!" Ash proclaimed, and stripped down to his own swimming gear. The two now made their way to the water's edge.

May touched the water's surface with her toe, which was, surprisingly, still warm to the touch.

"You were wrong, Ash," she remarked as she submerged her body beneath the waves. "This is just perfect."

Soon, her boyfriend joined her in the water. They just relaxed there, doing lover stuff and talking about random things.

"I wonder why Drew left us so quickly," Ash mused.

"Guess it was hard for him see me with you."

"Maybe that's it."

May then started shivering.

"Could we get out now? I think that we have been in the water long enough," she asked Ash, who nodded in agreement. As they got out of the water and put on their clothes, May noticed she did not have a particular piece of equipment.

"Umm…Ash…"

"Yeah?" He turned to her while laying out his sleeping bag.

"I don't have my sleeping bag…" May spoke shyly, "is there any chance you could share yours?"

"I dunno. Would it be enough for the two of us?" Ash blinked, looking at his sleeping bag. "It's not meant for two people, I don't think." May stepped toward her boyfriend, hands behind her back.

"We'll just have to be really close, then," she said and nuzzled Ash's arm.

"Okay, then."

The two somehow managed to squeeze in one sleeping bag, lying face-to-face.

"Goodnight, Ash," May whispered and gave him a good-night kiss.

"G'night," He whispered back to her, and soon both were in deep sleep.

The sun had risen a while ago, but the couple was still fast asleep. Suddenly, a loud voice echoed in the air, waking Ash up. He opened his eyes and saw May, still snoozing really close to him.

"May?" The raven-haired boy gently shook his girlfriend, who was still in deep sleep. "It's morning already."

"Huh?" May slowly opened her eyes and let out a yawn. "Hey, you're right! Did you sleep well?"

Ash got out of the sleeping bag after making some carefully planned movements.

"Yeah, how about you?" He asked her and stood up.

May was still in the sleeping bag and felt too lazy to get up.

"I slept very well," she said and stretched her arms. "And I could've continued sleeping, you know." Ash smiled apologetically at her.

"That's for sure," he spoke and looked at the nearby bushes. "I'm pretty sure I heard something over there a while ago. I'm going to check it out. Meanwhile, could you try to get up?" he asked teasingly and walked off.

May shot an angry glance at Ash, who was already far away to notice it. She got up and started packing the sleeping bag.

'What is taking him so long?'

May sat down, awaiting Ash's return. She didn't have to wait long - he came out bushes moments later and glanced at May.

"What took you so long?" She whined. "Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?"

"I'm sorry," Ash apologized, "I just got lost a little bit." He took a seat next to May. They were having breakfast, but were interrupted by a strange sound coming from the bushes. Ash grabbed one of his pokeballs.

"Totodile, use Water Gun on those bushes!" The tiny Pokemon shot water towards the indicated target. Following the impact, they heard screaming. Both Ash and May blinked and got up quickly. They peeked over bushes and saw a girl. She was roughly the same age as May, and had dark hair.

"Why did you do that?!?" The girl shouted at them.

"Why were you spying on us?" Ash asked her with a calm voice.

"I wasn't spying! I was just…walking past!"

"Sure…" both said in unison.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Chloe."

"My name is May"

"And I'm A-" Ash began, but Chloe cut him off.

"I know, you are Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" She stepped closer to Ash, looking him straight in the eyes. "You are so amazing!"

He began to blush from the compliment and scratched his head.

May was alarmed by how close this girl was Ash and decided to step in on the conversation.

"Are you fan girl of his?"

"It's not your business," Chloe shot at her before turning back to Ash. "You are going to LaRousse, am I right?"

"Yes, right after breakfast. Why?" Ash answered to this girl, who was still keeping a presence inside his personal space.

"I was wondering…If I can come with you. I know where LaRousse City is!"

"That would be great," Ash said turning his girlfriend. "Right, May?"

"I guess it's ok…" she mumbled under her voice.

They went back to eat. Chloe was sitting beside Ash, which made May start feeling jealous.

"Ash, what are you going to do in LaRousse?" the dark-haired girl started firing questions.

"I have to do few things…"

"What things?"

"Just some things…"

"I see…What are you going to do after that?"

"I don't know. why?"

Chloe start blushing slightly.

"Well…LaRousse has a good movie theater and I was wondering if you could come with me…" This question snapped May out of her boredom.

'She is asking Ash on a date?!? What is she thinking?!' May stood up and grabbed Chloe's arm.

"We have to talk."

She pulled Chloe out of Ash's line of sight and glared at the newcomer.

"Just to clear the air, Ash is my boyfriend, so you can't ask him on a date."

"Is he? I never thought that you could be his girlfriend," Chloe spoke. "All the same, you can't make decisions for him."

"What do you mean?" May asked, confused.

"If he likes me, you can't do anything about it."

"Wait, are you trying to steal him from me?"

Before Chloe could answer, somebody interrupted. "What are you guys up to?" Ash came between them. "I'm already packed, so let's go!" He began walking away from the girls, leaving them to chase after him.

After walking in silence for roughly ten minutes, Chloe started up a conversation…with Ash.

"If I remember correctly, you used to have Pikachu. Where is it now?"

"It's somewhere safe. Anything else you want to know?" Ash said with a calm voice. He didn't want to everyone know that he left his pokemon behind him. Ash took a look at May, who was keeping silent.

"May, are you alright?" The raven-haired boy asked her. She smiled at him.

"I'm alright…"

"Are you sure? You've been really quiet this whole time."

"I am sure, Ash." She leaned close to him and puckered her lips. Unfortunately, the moment was prematurely killed by a sudden scream. Ash knelt down to Chloe, who had apparently fallen onto the ground.

"What happened?"

"I think I twisted my ankle," She said.

"What?" May blurted out. "How can you twist your ankle while walking straight?"

Chloe didn't reply, instead trying to get up. However, she had just regained her footing, only to fall back to the ground.

"It's better if I carried you," Ash said and lifted her.

May felt angry when she saw that Chloe rested her head on Ash's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

As they were walking, May thought about her relationship with Ash. 'Could it happen that Ash leaves me and dates that irritating fan girl? No, Ash isn't like that…or is he?…Of course not. I have known Ash for a long time now…he would never do that.'

She noticed how Chloe seemed almost to be sleeping in Ash's arms. 'I'll have to speak with him.'

"What do you think if we stop for a quick lunch?" Ash asked to two girls. Both nodded in agreement.

They searched for a good spot to break. Minutes later, they found a great spot and decided to remain there a while. Ash set Chloe down, who could stand on her own, seemingly without difficulty or pain.

"I thought you twisted your ankle…?" Ash said to her.

"Well, it's fine now…" she leaned closer to Ash and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks to you." he blushed in response to her action. May's eyes widened, and she promptly ran off.

"May! Where are you going?" Ash shouted, but only got silence in reply.

"Wonder what that was about…I have to go find her," he said and ran after May.

May stopped running and sat down on a rock. 'Why did I run off…Ash didn't kiss her, she kissed him…but still. That stupid Chloe…why did she have to come?!' She remembered what Chloe had told her. 'And trying to steal Ash from me…Oh, the nerve of her!'

"May!" She heard somebody calling her and replied to that voice.

"I'm here."

Ash appeared and sat beside May.

"Why did you run off like that?"

"I don't know…I guess I just got carried away with the notion that you weren't into me anymore," May said, avoiding eye contact with Ash.

"Why?"

"I was afraid you were developing feelings for Chloe," May spoke shyly. Ash smiled and closed his arms around her. "I wouldn't ever leave you for another girl. You should know that!" Ash started, hoping he had comforted her. "I know exactly how you feel."

"Really?" May asked, intrigued by this revelation.

"I mean, I'd feel the same way if you ever left me for another guy," he said while gazing absentmindedly at the ground.

"You don't have anything worry about." It was May's turn to cheer him up. "I'm not going to be with him. Not when I've got someone like you."

The two then made eye contact, and spontaneously smiled at each other.

"Well, I'm starving. What do you say we eat something before we continue on to LaRousse?" Ash suggested as he climbed to his feet.

After helping May up, she remembered something pertinent to Ash.

"Do you remember the fact that Chloe kissed you?"

"Hey, she kissed me, and not the other way around!" Ash defended himself.

"You're right, but now you have to kiss me too!"

"I'd love to," he leaned closer to May and soon the two were passionately lip-locked for a few moments before separating for air.

"Why do your kisses always seem better and better?" May asked him while they were walking back to the camp site.

"I wanna ask you the same thing."

"There you are!" Chloe said as she emerged from her hiding spot in some nearby bushes, frightening Ash and May.

"Sorry, we lost track of time, that's all," May said nervously to the dark-haired girl.

"Let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"

After a quick break, they were moving in the direction of LaRousse City once again. Ash and May walked on hand-in-hand, which made Chloe feel angry.

'It looks like I won't be having him to myself…yet. I guess they really do like each other.'


	6. Chapter 6

"How much longer?" Ash asked for what must have been the fifth time in less than three minutes.

"Not long."

"Good, because it's getting dark already."

"Ash, do we have to stay the night at the Pokemon Center?" May asked.

"Yeah, we need some rest somewhere," he answered to her, smiling.

"Here we are," Chloe said, pointing out the city before them. Even from a distance, they could see that LaRousse was a city that thrived through the latest in technology. There were moving sidewalks, guard robots, and other proofs of cutting-edge technology.

"Let's find that Pokemon Center," Ash spoke and began searching around for it.

"You have to go down that sidewalk, and then you'll find it," Chloe said as she pointed towards one of the sidewalks. "I go that way," she added, nodding towards another sidewalk, "so I guess this is goodbye for now."

"We'll meet again," Ash said to her as he cracked a smile.

"I hope that we will," Chloe replied, blushing slightly, as she then turned to face May. "And good luck to the both of you. You two are a great couple."

May couldn't help but smile at that last comment. "Thank you, and good luck to you, too!"

Chloe stepped towards the sidewalk she had just indicated, and soon she was out of sight. Ash turned to May and took her hand.

"C'mon, let's get moving."

They stepped towards the sidewalk, which took them towards the Pokemon Center.

"Well, isn't this convenient?" May spoke when she noticed that she didn't have to do any walking. Of course, the two were standing on a platform that moved as though it were atop a giant conveyor belt.

Ash chuckled. "You're right. Look, there it is!"

The ride ended in front of the Pokemon Center, which Ash and May promptly entered.

"Could you heal our pokemon and give a room to us?" Ash asked Nurse Joy as he and May handed their pokemon to her.

"That's what I'm here for!" She took the pokeballs and gave a key to them. "And here is your room key; it's the third door to left as you go down the hallway." Ash and May thanked her and went to search for their room.

"So, third door to the left…here!" May exclaimed and proceeded to unlock and open the door. They went inside and Ash threw his backpack onto floor.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, ok?" May asked and removed her bandana.

"M'kay, then I'll try to find out where Team Rocket's base could be."

"Please, Ash, don't put yourself in harm's way," May stepped in front of him.

"I won't." They then shared another kiss. After that, Ash took off and May went to the bathroom.

**With Ash**

Ash was standing out front of the Pokemon Center, searching for anything that would seem out of place. If anything looked unusual, chances were that that was where Team Rocket was holed up.

_'Where should I start looking…'_ he thought, searching vigilantly. Just then, he noticed a building some distance away that had a helicopter landing pad on it.

_'That seems like a likely place…but it's far…I guess May won't get upset if I'm outside a little longer than planned.'_

Ash stepped to sidewalk, which would take him to Team Rocket's base. While he was standing on the sidewalk, he looked around. There were many people visiting stores at this time of night.

Minutes went by before the moving platform he stood upon came to a halt. Ash looked ahead of him. The street was dark and lifeless at first glance.

"Guess I have to walk now," Ash said to himself and started walking. A cold breeze blew and made him shiver. Going deeper into the dark street, he saw three figures. One, a young male (or so he appeared in form – the dark night made it difficult to determine age or gender), was lying on the ground, bracing himself from the merciless kicking of the second figure while the third stood nearby, wielding a knife.

"Lift him," the tallest of those three said and lifted the victim so that he was standing on his own two feet.

"We have no further need of you," one of the assailants said and held a knife against the boy's throat.

Ash couldn't bear to watch this any longer. He ran to these figures and began wrestling with the one who was holding the knife, trying to wrench it free. That person, who appeared to be of the masculine gender, didn't drop knife as Ash had hoped. Instead, the arm twisted in such a way that the knife cut a gash into Ash's own arm. He fell to the ground and cried out in pain.

The two tormentors were laughing to him.

"Stupid kid. C'mon, let's go," one said to his friend and they were off.

Ash turned to the boy, who had been watching him.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. Are you?" The boy asked in reply.

"Well, I'm not dying," Ash answered and took a look at his bleeding arm.

"Why did you save me?" The boy was amazed by what he did.

"Well, it didn't look like you would be able to really do much, and it wouldn't be right to let those creeps finish whatever it was they were about to do," Ash said to him and got up. His arm was still bleeding, though he attempted to put pressure on the wound by holding his hand tightly over it.

"I'm Ash, by the way."

"My name is Mark."

"Well, Mark, do you have a place in the area?"

"No…I used to live with those two…now I don't really have any place to go."

"In that case, you could come with me to the Pokemon Center," Ash offered. "I'm sure that you could stay there awhile."

Mark's face brightened up as he smiled.

"Really? I wouldn't be troubling anyone?"

"Of course not. Come on."

They took the moving sidewalk back to the Pokemon Center. Ash was a little disappointed because he didn't find Team Rocket's base.

"Can I ask why you were there?" Mark asked, overcome with interested.

"Oh, I was just looking Team Rocket's base," Ash answered to him as they were almost at the Pokemon Center.

"Ok…aren't they bad people?"

"Yes, they are."

"Then why are you searching for them?" Mark asked.

"It is long story."

Moments later, the pair stood in front of the Pokemon Center. "Let's go inside."

Mark nodded. He and Ash walked inside.

"Nurse Joy, could you take care of this boy? He doesn't have any other place to stay," Ash said to Nurse Joy. She looked at Mark and nodded.

"Of course. Are you OK? That cut looks bad," She said, noticing the cut on Ash's arm.

"I'm fine."

"Well then, follow me," she motioned to Mark and they went to the backroom.

"Ash Ketchum!" Ash heard someone shouting and turned around. "Where have you been?" May asked as she placed her hands on her hips. Before Ash could reply, she gasped upon seeing the cut on his arm.

"Where did this came from?" May took Ash's arm and looked it over, concern evident in her face.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later."

"It looks bad; does it hurt?" She asked worriedly.

"Maybe a little," Ash said modestly.

"Well, I think we should get that taken care of," the brunette-haired girl looked around until she found what she was looking for, and took a First-Aid kit from its place on the wall outside the room.

"Come on, let's go to our room," May began as she pulled Ash to their room.

He sat down on the single bed in the room. May opened the kit and started cleaning Ash's wound.

"So, how did this happen?"

"Some people were assaulting this kid, so I tried to stop them before they could do him any harm."

May let out a sigh. "Didn't I say to you to not get into any trouble?"

"I didn't really have much choice back there." He gritted his teeth when May began swabbing the cut with a small alcohol-soaked towelette.

"Sorry, this might sting little bit."

"No kidding."

May finished cleansing the wound and took out some bandages.

"Did you find Team Rocket's base?"

"Not yet. I was looking for it, but I got a little sidetracked, one thing led to another, and soon enough, I was back here with this cut on my arm, accompanied by the kid I had just saved," Ash spoke while May was tying the bandages tightly over the gash.

"It's a good thing that you came back…or you could have…" May abruptly stopped tying the bandages and began watering at the eyes. Ash realized what she was thinking.

"May, don't think like that. I'm alive, and that's what's most important now."

"You're right." She wiped her tears off and resumed her previous task. "Is this too tight?"

"No, it's just fine," Ash said to her. A moment later, May had finished tying the bandages and now busied herself with getting ready to return the kit.

"Thanks, May."

"No problem." She said with a big smile. "I'm off to put this back. I'll return shortly." May then headed out of the room.

Ash went to the bathroom to clean his bloodstained hands. After his hands were sufficiently cleaned, he went back to his bed and lay down.

_'Tomorrow is big day. I wonder if Team Rocket has started their plans already…I hope not. And Pikachu…please be alright.'_

He heard the door opening and May came inside.

"Here is your pokemon," she handed six pokeballs to him.

"Thanks." He took them and put them into their slots in his belt.

May sat next to him and started up a conversation.

"Do you have a plan as to how we get your pokemon back?"

"Um…not really. All I've thought about is making a stealthy entrance."

"Okay," She said and rested her head onto Ash's shoulder. "Nothing too dangerous?"

"Hopefully not…but there is another thing about saving my pokemon…" Ash decided to tell to May about Team Rocket's plan.

"Like what?" She lifted her head and looked at Ash.

Ash began narrating what he knew of Team Rocket's latest schemes, and the implications of what would happen should their visions be realized. At the conclusion of his talk, May let out a sigh.

"Why is it always you who has to try to save a world…always you to risk your own life…"

"I asked the police to help, but they didn't believe me," Ash started. "And being Chosen One, it's my duty."

"No it's not!" May snapped. "It can't be duty where you die!"

"Someone has to do it." He put arms around May, closing her in his embrace.

"I'm going with you," she said.

"I figured you would, but are you really willing to put yourself in harm's way?"

May broke the hug and stared at Ash.

"And leave you alone? How can you think that I would leave you?"

"I'd rather be there myself knowing that you are someplace safe."

"But -" May started saying something, but Ash cut her off.

"No buts about it." Ash stood up and stretched. "Why do our conversations always go this way?"

"Because you're so selfless!" She shouted at him without realizing it.

Ash blinked in shock at what May just did.

"May, you don't need to overreact. Maybe, sometimes I'm too selfless, but that is because I care about you and my friends."

May didn't reply, opting instead to lie down on the bed and sulk.

"So you're not going to talk to me…" he guessed and walked away. "Fine then, I'll give you time to be alone."

Soon Ash was out of their room. He took a moment to have a look around.

_'I wonder where Mark could be?'_

Walking around for a few minutes, he found a room for orphans. There were plenty of beds where everyone could sleep. In one corner, Ash spotted the person he was looking for.

"Hi, Mark," he greeted him as he approached.

"Hello, Ash," Mark said warmly, before noticing Ash's bandaged arm. "Is your arm ok?"

"Yes, thanks to May."

Mark blinked when he heard name 'May'.

"Who is this May?"

"I forgot to introduce you two," Ash scratched his head and chuckled embarrassedly. "She's my girlfriend. You can meet her later, when she's cooled off a little."

"Ok…can I ask why she needs to cool off?" Mark asked curiously.

"We kind of had this fight…and now she won't even talk to me." Ash let out sigh. "It's complicated."

"Well, it sure sounds like it," Mark gave a small laugh. "Umm…Ash, could you come with me to the cafeteria? I'm a little afraid to go alone…"

"Sure I can," Ash replied and they went to the cafeteria. Mark's jaw dropped when he saw how much food there was to choose from.

"Take everything that you want," Ash said while picking out sandwiches and a drink for himself.

After Mark had loaded his tray with all the food he wanted, they took a seat next to a window.

"Do you think that you could live in the Pokemon Center for a while?" Ash asked, hoping to make some conversation out of this.

Mark quickly gulped down the food he had in his mouth before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm sure that I could."

"That's good to hear." Ash smiled and took a bite out of his sandwich. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been on your own?"

"…About four years, I think," Mark answered and continued eating.

"Where did you live during that time?"

"Mostly on streets, though I did spend some time with those goons who gave you that," He pointed Ash's bandaged arm.

"Okay."

Looking at the arm himself, Ash noticed the bandage was becoming soaked with blood. It would have to be changed soon.

"Ash…" a sweet voice said. Ash and Mark turned to see who had spoken.

"What it is, May?" Ash spoke and turned back to his food. "I thought you didn't want to talk with me."

"I'm sorry…this all is just so frustrating," she said and sat down beside Ash, who smiled at her.

"I know. This is quite frustrating for me, too." He handed one of his sandwiches to May. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't. Thanks." She took it and turned to boy who was staring at her. "Who is he?"

"That's Mark, the guy I was telling you about earlier," Ash introduced. "Mark, this is May, my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you, May," Mark said while smiling.

"It's nice to meet you too." She smiled back. "What were you two talking about?"

"Just few things, nothing important," her boyfriend answered.

"Okay." May started eating, but then saw for herself how blood-soaked Ash's bandages had become. "You know, you should get those changed soon. I could help you with that, if you'd like."

"May, you don't hav-" Ash spoke but May interrupted.

"Don't say that again. You know that I want to help you, so I will."

All Ash could do in reply was to smile.

"In that case, thank you. I'm lucky that I have someone to look after me like you."

"And I'm lucky that I have someone who I can take care of."

"You like to take care of me?" Ash blinked in astonishment.

"Kind of," She answered him. "I know it sounds weird, but still…"

"I don't think that sounds weird," Ash said. "What's wrong with taking care of somebody else?"

"I would be happy if someone could take care of me like that," Mark spoke after a silent moment.

"Here in the Pokemon Center, you'll always have someone looking out for you," the raven-haired boy said to him.

"You're right," Mark smiled and let out a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I've had a long day. I'll be off to bed now. Night," he said, then got up and made his departure.

"Goodnight," Ash and May said in unison.

"Do you think that we should go, too?" Ash asked.

"Let me finish." May took a bite of her sandwich. "Don't you see that I'm still eating?"

"I can wait…"

"Now I'm ready," the brunette said after she had finished eating and stood up, Ash following suit.

They walked in silence towards their room. Finally they got there and Ash sat on their bed.

"I go get changed into my night wear, then I'll put some fresh bandages on your arm," May said, before taking her aforementioned clothes with her into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Ash got his nightclothes on and waited for her. Moments later, the bathroom door opened and May came out.

"Now…" she began as she wielded a length of bandage. "Could you give me your hand?"

Ash rested his injured arm on May's lap. May started untying the old bandages slowly. The blood had coagulated to the bandage in such a way that every time May unwrapped the bandaging around the wound, Ash would feel a slight jab of pain.

"Sorry if this hurts you," she said sympathetically as she finished removing the bandages.

"It is not your fault," He replied.

"This might sting a bit," May then said as she took out a spray bottle filled with disinfectant.

Ash gritted his teeth when she started cleaning. May kept cleaning until she felt the area was not contaminated in any way, and then rewrapped the arm with the new bandages.

"There, all done," she finished and collected the old bandages. "I'll get these out of the way, then."

While May was disposing of the bandages, Ash slipped under the covers of the bed. Upon returning, May walked over to her side of the bed and yawned.

"I'm so sleepy…" she commented when she slipped under the covers next to Ash and placed her head to rest on his chest.

"Yeah, me too," Ash said and felt May's breath on his skin. "Do you think we should go to Team Rocket's base tomorrow night?"

"Why?" She asked without lifting her head.

"Well, I don't think they'd expect intruders in the darkness of night."

"You're smart, Ash, did you know that?" May closed her eyes.

"I know, but you're smarter than me." She giggled at his comment. Ash began to stroke her hair. "Let's get some sleep."

"Well, goodnight, Ash."

"Goodnight, May."

**Concurrently, somewhere in LaRousse**

A man was sitting in his chair. His gaze was looking out the window. Someone began knocking at the door.

"Come in."

Through the doorway came a man who was wearing a black shirt with a large red 'R' on it.

"You have a visitor, sir."

"And who might it be?" the mysterious man asked, turning around his chair.

"He calls himself Drew. He claims to know the whereabouts of the guy we're looking for."

"Very well. Let him in."

"Yes, sir," the grunt said and left room.

A moment later, a green-haired boy came into the spacious room.

"I'm Dr-" he started but his host promptly cut him off.

"I know who you are. What are you here for?"

"I heard that you're searching for one by the name of Ash Ketchum, Giovanni."

"Don't call me that!" Giovanni shouted, turning around in his chair so his guest could see his face.

"My apologies," Drew quickly interjected. "But what about Ash?"

"We have no further use for him." Giovanni swiveled his chair around to face the window again.

"What?!?" Drew blurted out. "But I need to get him away from someone!"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"But he's here in LaRousse! He's right where you can get to him!" When Giovanni heard this, he turned to face Drew again, this time with a look of intrigue.

"He is here in the city?" Giovanni sounded surprised. "He could derail this whole plan…" he mumbled, unaware that Drew overheard him.

"What plan?"

"None of your business," Giovanni snarled, then seemed to look amused.

"Hmm…on second thought, perhaps there is something you could do that would be useful to me."

"What I have to do?" Drew questioned.

"Allow me to explain. Listen carefully."

Minutes went by as Giovanni discussed his plans with Drew, who was captivated by the end of it. He was now part of Giovanni's sinister plans.


	7. Chapter 7

"Wake up, May," Ash crooned, gently shaking her awake. "I won't let you sleep the whole day!"

She opened her eyes slightly and saw Ash kneeling beside their bed. She buried her head back into pillow.

Ash sighed and gave up. "Fine, you can keep on sleeping, but 10 minutes, and no more." He went towards the bathroom. "I'll go take a shower and when I come back, I'm going to wake you."

May smirked and fell back to sleep.

* * *

A young woman was wearing a white dress, standing alone on a small hill. The sun was setting over the horizon as she waited vigilantly for someone.

"I wonder where he could be…"

Over the hilltop came a young man who was wearing a dark blue suit. He walked over to May and smiled.

"Sorry I'm a little late," he said, his voice calm.

"It's okay," May smiled at him. "I haven't waited for too long."

"Good," Ash sighed, overcome with relief. "By the way, you look beautiful."

His comment made May blush slightly. "Thank you," she stated. "And you look handsome."

"Thanks."

"So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" May asked.

"Oh yeah, I did ask for this, didn't I?" Ash went down onto one knee and took something out of his pocket. "May, we have known each other for a long time now. We have had several adventures and survived many dangers, often at each other's side."

May was listening intently as Ash continued.

"So now I ask…" He opened the small box he held, which revealed a small metallic ring. "Will you marry me?"

May's heart was beating frantically. She had waited for this question for a long time. _'This is it, those words finally came to his mouth!'_

"May?"

_'Finally, he is asking m_e!' May kept thinking.

"May??"

_'To me…only for me…'_

"May!"

* * *

May snapped out of her dream when she realized the shouting voice was not part of the subconscious vision. She opened her eyes and saw Ash, who was smiling at her.

"It's quite hard to wake you," he teased. May let out a sigh.

"I was having such a wonderful dream…" she stretched and glared at Ash, "and you just had to wake me up!"

"I said that I would awaken you after I came back from the shower," Ash defended himself and sat beside May, who was still lying in the bed. "Can I ask what you were dreaming about?"

"About us," May started and closed her eyes. "We were under a gorgeous sunset and you proposed me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get to the end of that dream," she confided as she opened her eyes. "Ironically, it was because of you."

"Well, I'm sorry," he apologized as he leaned close to her and gave her a kiss on the lips. "But you would've slept the whole day if I hadn't woken you!"

"It's okay," she yawned and got up. "Guess it is time to wake up now."

"Change your clothes and then we should go get something to eat," Ash suggested as he got up. May nodded and looked at his arm, which had been unwrapped sometime earlier. Only a scar remained.

"Wow, you recover fast," She gawked.

"Huh?" Ash was confused at first, but then realized she was referring to his arm. "Oh, yeah, I've always recovered fast, don't know why."

"That's good," May smiled warmly. "I'll go shower and after that, we'll eat."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash said and sat back down on the bed.

May took out her wardrobe for the day and went into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, she came out, wearing her usual outfit. Ash stood up and spoke.

"Come on, let's go already!" He placed both hands on his stomach. "I'm starving!"

"Stop complaining!" May dried her hair in front of the mirror. "Look at my hair, it's so wet!"

"Maybe because you were in the shower…" Ash mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!" May glared and kept drying until her hair was almost dry. "Now, could you help me with this bandana?"

She gave him her red bandana. Ash took it and May turned around that he could tie it.

"All done," he declared as he finished tying.

May turn around and thanked him with a kiss. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Ash replied, smiling at her. "Let's go eat."

May and Ash headed over to the cafeteria. A familiar smell came to May's nose and her smile grew.

"They have noodles!" She jumped excitedly. "I haven't eaten it long time!"

"May, everyone is staring at us…" Ash said as he looked around him.

They took a platter of noodles each and went to sit. May started eating like as though she had never eaten before. Her boyfriend sweat dropped as he started eating.

"That was good!" May said after a fourth portion and waited for Ash to finish his food. Suddenly, she had a thought.

"Ash, have you ever thought about having kids?"

He nearly choked on his noodle. "What?!?!" He blurted out in response to what his girlfriend asked.

"You know…kids."

"…I knew that," Ash replied, seeming to calm down. "But why are you asking that?!?"

"Geez, Ash, you don't have to overreact," May spoke and went to her dream world. "Imagine it…little infants running all over…"

"Screaming and crying," Ash interjected. She snapped out of her dreams.

"Don't be so negative!" She glared again. "By the way, you didn't answer my question, have you ever thought about having kids?"

"I haven't thought about it…Do you want kids?"

"Yes…I've always wanted to be mother," May went again to her dream world.

Ash blinked and decided to eat his food before it cooled.

After he ate, they went to the lobby where there more people than there had been that morning. A young couple stopped in the middle of the lobby, thinking about what they would do next.

"What do we do now? We have lots of time before nightfall," Ash spoke. A menacing smirk came over May's face.

"I have one thing I wanna do…let's go shopping!"

"Shopping…" Ash rolled his eyes. "…Are there even shops around?"

May start grabbing something out of her fanny pack. From it she pulled out a small red booklet. May searched for a particular page and showed it to Ash.

"Look. It says that LaRousse has the biggest mall in whole region!" Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. "We must go!"

"I don't know…"

"Aww…C'mon, Ash!" May used her puppy-dog look.

_'No! Not that again!'_ He looked at her deep blue eyes._ 'If I won't go with her, she'll become sad, and I don't want to see her sad…so I must go with her.'_

"Fine…" He give up. May jump around and hugged Ash tightly.

"You don't know how much this means to me," she gratified, letting him out of her trap, and they walked away from the Pokemon Center.

"It's really unfair that you use that look," Ash said and took May's hand.

"I can't help it," she squeezed his hand gently. "I only want to spend time with you."

"I want to do that with you, too," he squeezed back. "It doesn't matter what we do, so long as we are together."

They shared a kiss and stepped onto a sidewalk which transported them to the mall.

"You weren't kidding when you said that it is biggest mall!" Ash exclaimed, amazed by the mall's massive size when it came into sight.

"There must be everything you could want there, and then some," May's eyes sparkled again. "And you have to help me pick out stuff!"

"Why?" He asked.

"I can't do all myself, you know!"

"I've seen what you can do when you're in a mall…"

"Okay, and I'm asking you to help me," she admitted. "You're my boyfriend and I don't want to look unpleasant for you…"

"May, you never look unpleasant to me." He placed his hand to her shoulder and pulled her into hug.

"So you'll help me?" May asked as they stepped off the sidewalk and broke the hug.

"…Yes."

"And carry my stuff?"

"Guess so…" He answered, feeling unsure of himself.

"Great!" May clapped her hands together. "We're going to have so much fun!"

_'Fun?'_ Ash thought._ 'Dying in boredom and carrying bags isn't fun…'_

"Yeah…sure," he said with a fake smile.

"Wow…" May was taken aback by the very size of the mall's interior. "There must be at least a million shops in here!"

"Remember that you don't have all day to shop," Ash reminded her.

"That's why we should start right away!" She grabbed Ash's arm and ran towards the closest store.

"Where do you get all that energy?" The raven-haired boy asked as they got inside the store's entryway.

"I'm just so excited that I'll be getting new clothes…" she said, a big smile on her face. "Now, sit down and wait."

Ash sat down on a bench and waited for May as she disappeared among the large merchandise displays.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait too long. His girlfriend appeared, holding yellow and red shirts.

"Tell me, which one is better?" She asked while holding both shirts.

"Um…red one?" Ash said without certainty.

May looked first at the red one, then yellow and again red. Finally, she agreed with her boyfriend's assessment. "You're right, red is more my color."

Ash sighed with relief that he picked the right one.

"Should I go to try it on?" May pondered. "I don't want to buy something that won't fit me!"

"Go ahead. I'll still be here."

"OK, Ash, I won't be too long." She ran to search for a fitting room.

Ash was quite bored, so he did the only thing to keep himself distracted: look around the shop. There were only a few patrons around, all of them women.

"So, what do you think?" He heard a familiar voice and turned around. May stood in front of him, wearing that same red shirt she had shown him earlier.

"That looks great," Ash said with a smile.

"Really?" May asked as she looked herself in the mirror. "I don't look fat in this?"

Ash let out another sigh. "No…You look just fine."

"Guess I have to listen to my boyfriend." She leaned closer to him and gave a peck on his cheek. "I'll take this."

"Good choice."

"I'll change back real quick. Just sit tight." She ran back to the fitting room.

The day flew by as the two continued their shopping. They had gone through many stores, and May's wardrobe increased in size as they went. Ash was trying to keep up with her. Lucky for him, his girlfriend stopped to think.

"Hmm…what do I still need…" May pondered, placing a finger to her lips. Though they had already gone through several stores, she still hadn't found everything. It seemed like something was still missing.

" 'Still'? " Ash gasped. He was struggling with the burden of several large bags, all full of May's clothes and none very light. "You have at least eight shirts, eight shorts, five pairs of shoes and many different bandannas. Isn't that enough?"

"No," she simply replied. "Something is missing…"

"Can I ask where are you going to put all of these?" Ash wondered.

"I send them to my house from the Pokemon Center."

"So you're not going to use them?"

"Not likely," she gave another simple reply.

"Then why did you even buy them?"

"That way, I have choices. You never know what you'll need to wear, or when."

Ash sighed. "I just don't get it…"

"Someday you will." May tapped his back. Suddenly, something came to her mind, and an evil grin appeared on her face. "Now I remember what I needed!"

"What it is?" Ash asked, unnerved by May's grin.

"I need new underwear," she said, locking an arm around Ash's own arm. "And I want you to help me with that."

"What?!?" he blurted out. "Help you…to choose your underwear?!"

"Yeah. It won't be hard," May giggled. "You've seen me in bikinis, it's almost the same thing."

"But-" Ash was about to plead not to do this, but May wouldn't hear it.

"Please, Ash, please?"

"OK then…" Ash gave up. He knew only too well that May would use her secret weapon if he refused, effectively rendering all resistance futile. "But after that, we're going," he said, implementing a much-needed condition.

"All right," she said as she nuzzled his arm. "You know, you're really sweet to be helping me so much."

"First, it's the least that I can do after you've helped me and second, if I refuse, you're just going to use that look again…"

"Maybe so." She stopped nuzzling when she spotted the store she was looking. "There it is! That is the shop!"

"May, everyone is staring at us…" Ash moaned, trying in vain to hide his embarrassment.

"C'mon." She pulled him with her into the shop. Inside, Ash became uncomfortably aware of how out-of-place he was – he was the only man in the premises. Everyone stared at Ash as he and May entered.

"This is so embarrassing…" he whined in a low voice.

"No it's not," May objected as she began searching through the lingerie. "Oh, these are nice!"

She picked up a cyan-colored set.

Ash remained silent as May continued searching.

"Oh my gosh, these are nice, too!" She exclaimed as she picked out another set, this one emerald-colored. "I have to try these on. Come on, Ash, let's find a fitting room."

May dragged Ash with her all over the shop until they found it. She handed him her cyan-colored undergarments.

"Could you hold these while I'm in fitting room?"

"Um…sure…" He took them as May went inside.

While she was in the fitting room, Ash was dying in embarrassment. Everyone who went past him stared.

_'What is taking her so long?'_ He thought and took look at a clock._ 'We have to have time to eat before we get to Team Rocket's base!'_

The door opened and May appeared, wearing the emerald underwear. "Tell me, how do I look?" She spun around, modeling the clothing.

"I think you look really nice," he said honestly. "But do you have to show them in front of the entire store?"

"Sorry…" she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "You really think that I look good? It's like these were made for me."

"May, you don't walk around with them, so it doesn't matter how they look…"

"But I can't wear something that doesn't look good on me," she said and took the garments Ash was holding. "Well, guess I'll try these on and decide which one looks better." And May was off.

Ash endured another few minutes of embarrassment before the dressing room door opened. May came out, first looking around to see if someone (besides Ash) was staring at her. When she saw no one looking, she came to Ash.

"How do these look?" She asked and turned around again, showing them to Ash.

"I think those look great on you, too," he answered.

"Hmm…" May looked at herself before a mirror. "I think that, too…but which should I choose?"

"So if you can't decide which one to take, why not take them both?"

"It easier that way." May blew a raspberry and went back to the dressing room.

"Easier… Sure…" Ash silently mumbled as May disappeared.

"And here are these," the sales clerk said and gave to May a bag containing her unmentionables.

"Thank you," she said with a big smile and turned to Ash. "Could you carry these, too…?"

"Of course…" he took another bag in his hand.

They left the mall and headed back to the Pokemon Center. May was looking at a magazine which she took from the mall and Ash was carrying her bags. Without warning, May let out a shriek.

"What it is?" Ash asked, feeling alarmed.

"Just a really beautiful dress. Here, take a look!"

He took a look and saw that the dress was entirely white. He looked at the title above that dress. "May, you know that is wedding dress?"

"I know." She diverted her attention back to the magazine.

"Then why are you looking at it?" Ash asked.

"Someday, I hope that I get married." She sighed. "How about you? Do you want to marry someday?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

"Haven't you ever thought about your future?" May asked while she put the magazine away.

"Actually…I haven't," he admitted and looked down at the moving sidewalk. "I haven't had time for think it. All my time has been spent with my pokemon and training them."

"And you have done great job with your pokemon," May complimented as she stood beside him. "They are really strong and well trained. You're great trainer."

"Thanks…but I don't know about that last part."

His girlfriend was confused by his skepticism.

"What kind of trainer leaves his own pokemon in danger?" he continued and clutched his fists.

"Ash, it's not your fault." May placed her hand on his shoulder. "We're going to save them, remember? There is no need to worry."

He started calming down and let out a small chuckle. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be so melancholy."

"Don't be." May smiled warmly and locked him in an embrace. "You know, I was trying to take your mind away from your pokemon with that shopping thing…"

"And you succeeded."

"Really?" She broke the embrace and looked at him.

"Being with you is all that I need right now," he started saying. "Maybe it was shopping, but at least I got to stay with you."

"Aww." May embraced Ash again. "Being with you is all that I need, too."

Standing in silence on the sidewalk, Ash and May arrived at the Pokemon Center, where Ash immediately dropped May's shopping bags to the floor.

"Well then," May spoke and grabbed up the bags. "I'll send these home. In the meantime, would you mind getting some food for me?"

"Sure thing," Ash nodded. "What do you want to eat?"

"If there are still noodles, I'll take those. If not, just give me whatever you're getting."

"Right. See you in a few." They shared a quick kiss and Ash headed to the cafeteria. May went to Nurse Joy and asked her something.

"Excuse me, but do you have a PC around here?"

"Of course," Joy answered with her normal smile and pointed somewhere. "It's just around the corner."

"Thank you. I'm sure that I can find it," May said and moved towards that direction.

In cafeteria with Ash

"Great! These ought to be enough noodles to satisfy May," he said to himself and took the last of the noodles. He grabbed a few sandwiches for himself and went to find a suitable area to sit. After he found a nice spot, he sat down. "Now I just have to wait for May…"

With May

"…Got them right here," said Caroline, showing a few cases to her daughter.

"Good." May was relieved. "I was afraid that they wouldn't come – This machine is so complicated."

"They did come," her mother said. "We haven't talked in a while…How it is going with Ash? Have you told him?"

"Well…we are now together," May confessed, a blush coming to her cheeks. "Actually, we have been together for a few days now."

"That is great!" Caroline rejoiced. "My little girl is growing up so fast…Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"Mom, I'm not 'little' anymore!" May took her gaze off the screen. "And I've been too busy to call."

"I understand. When you're traveling, you've always got something to do," Caroline smiled and looked towards a clock. "It's getting late, so I'm going to wrap this up."

May remember something and returned her gaze back to the screen. "Oh, Ash is waiting for me. I have to go now. See you soon, bye!"

"Bye. And I'll tell your father the good news."

The screen went black and May headed towards the cafeteria, where Ash was waiting for her.

_'Wonder what is taking for her so long…'_ Ash thought, gazing around until he saw her coming.

"Sorry I'm late – I talked with my mother," May apologized and sat down. "Ah, they did have noodles!"

"Hope it's not cold," Ash said but May was already eating like crazy. "Guess it isn't…"

"What did you say?" She asked with her mouth full of food.

"Nothing," Ash sweat dropped and started eating.

Both finished their food and went outside of the Pokemon Center.

"So this is it now…" May started speaking.

"Yeah. I hope everything goes fine – without any problems," Ash said, gazing ahead.

"I know everything is going to go fine." His girlfriend closed him into an embrace.

"Let's do this quickly." Ash and May stepped onto a sidewalk, heading to Team Rocket's base.


	8. Chapter 8

Ash and May were almost in Team Rocket's headquarters. A cold breeze blew into their face as night had come. They passed through dark streets and arrived in front of a big building, which bore a large red 'R' on the rooftop. Ash turned towards his girlfriend.

"This is it. Remember, nobody should be able to see us, right?"

"But if someone does see us, what then?" May skepticized about their plan.

"Um…" Ash pondered. "I haven't thought about that …but let's just try to keep a low profile."

"All right. But can you promise one thing?" the brunette spoke and stepped closer to Ash.

"Like what?"

"That we won't apart from each other…" May came closer and closer until her body touched his. "…In any situation."

"If there is any danger, I want you to stay hidden," Ash said with an imperative voice. His girlfriend sighed and gently slammed her head into his chest.

"You just don't get it. I don't want to leave you."

"But you have to. We can't discuss this anymore, OK?" Ash closed her into embrace.

"OK, then…" May moved her hands around Ash and pulled him into tight hug. "You know, you're so selfish."

"That is one way how I can protect you," the dark-haired boy said and broke their embrace. "Let's go."

Ash walked towards the doors until May stopped him.

"What are you doing? We can't go through that doorway, everyone would see us!"

"You're right. What was I thinking?" He scratched his head in embarrassment. "So we need to get inside somewhere else, in that case…"

"How about there?" May pointed to a window.

"We aren't tall enough…" Ash said disappointedly. "But we could use our pokemon to get there, I suppose."

May took one of her pokeballs. "My Blaziken is strong enough to lift both of us up there."

They went under the window and looked around to ensure that nobody was in the vicinity. When it was clear, May called out her pokemon.

"Blaziken, c'mon out," she said and threw the ball. There appeared a strong, bird-looking pokemon. "Could you help me and Ash to get up through that window?"

Blaziken nodded in agreement.

"Good," May smiled to her pokemon and looked at Ash. "Do you wanna go first?"

"Sure." He walked beside Blaziken, who lifted him closer to the window. He managed to jump inside. But instead of a soft landing, he crashed onto the floor. Seconds later, May come inside too and recalled her pokemon back to its pokeball.

She went beside Ash, who was rubbing his head. "Are you OK?" May asked with a concerned voice. "It sounded like you crashed onto the floor."

"I did crash, and it hurt!" He got up, still rubbing his head. "On the bright side, at least we're in now."

"Yeah…Are you sure that you're OK?" May was very concerned and moved Ash's hand off his head so that she could see if there were any marks or blood. "It doesn't look too bad…"

"I'm okay, May. Don't worry about it," Ash gave a weak smile and took a look around him. There were boxes all over the place. "This room seems to be some kind of storage room."

May went to look at some of the boxes. "Ash, come see this!"

Ash came beside her and looked at what his girlfriend saw. "Great! Team Rocket grunt uniforms. We could use those as a disguise," he smiled at May. "Nice job."

"Thank you." She smiled widely and returned her gaze to the outfits. "Wait a second, I need to try to find clothes that are close to your size."

After May found a pair of outfits that fit them both, they proceeded to don the disguises.

"How do I look?" May asked and showed herself to Ash, who stared at her dumbfoundedly.

"Gosh, May. Try to concentrate!"

"I am concentrating," she retorted as she busied herself with fixing her hair under the hat. "But it's hard if I look bad."

Ash almost dropped on the floor. "OK – Well, you look fine." He went to door and opened it slowly. May remained silent when Ash peeked outside to see if the coast was clear. Seeing no one, he spoke to May.

"It seems to be clear. Let's go."

Ash and May started walking at a steady pace, trying to find the room where Team Rocket kept Ash's pokemon. On first floor, they didn't find anything so they went to the next floor. Suddenly, two Team Rocket grunts came towards them. Ash and May hid their faces so that the grunts wouldn't recognize them. Unfortunately, the other one of them stopped Ash.

"I don't think that I've seen you before," the man spoke and glanced at May. "And haven't met you before, either."

"Um…we are new…and we came to…" Ash lied to the two grunts.

"Really? Who is your current mentor, pray tell?" Tall man kept asking.

"Mentor?"

"Who is your mentor in this base? Surely you are aware that new recruits are assigned to the direct supervision of a mentor upon induction?"

Both grunts started to get annoyed with them as May became fearful of what would happen.

"I'm sorry - Now I remember," Ash said credibly. "We actually have two mentors - Jessie and James."

"Jessie and James, huh?" one grunt burst out laughing as other managed to say something. "I feel sorry for you two. Those clowns never seem to get anything done."

"You're right," the other continued, once his laughter had subsided. "C'mon. We have to go grab some grub before it's too late." With that, the two grunts took their leave of the imposter recruits.

"That was close," May exhaled. "Clever thinking, Ash"

They went through many more rooms until May gave up and stopped walking.

"This isn't working. There are too many rooms, we'll never find them," she complained. "And I'm too tired to continue!"

Ash stopped walking as well and turned to May. "I'm not stopping anywhere until I find my pokemon. You can take a rest if you need it."

"I can't go any further till I've had some rest. But admit it, this will take all night, to say the least. There must be a least twelve floors in this building!"

"Maybe so, but I will keep looking," Ash objected and he kept walking. Despite her fatigue, May had to sprint after Ash, just to ensure no harm befell him.

Once again, they searched in many rooms, without results. By now, they'd been in the building for over two hours.

"Why we just can't ask someone where it is?" May asked and followed Ash.

"Wouldn't it be too suspicious?"

"Not if we have pokemon with us." She grabbed one pokeball. "And Eevee is ready to help."

Ash pondered for a second. "That could work. Why didn't you suggest it before?"

"It just now occurred to me," May smiled and released her youngest pokemon. "Now, Eevee. You help me and Ash, OK?" She asked to the brown little pokemon, who nodded. May lifted it with her hands and hugged it.

Their didn't have search too long. When they got to the next floor, they saw one grunt and went over to talk to him.

"Excuse me," Ash started speaking and got the grunt's attention. "We're new in here and we don't know where we should take this pokemon," he said, pointing towards May's Eevee.

"In the basement, left door. That's where we hold 'em till we need 'em," the grunt replied. "There is an elevator over there, unless you wanna take the stairs."

"Thank you."

"That was easy." May pressed a button to summon an elevator car.

"Yeah. We should have thought about that first," Ash chuckled slightly. "At least everything has been going fine so far."

An elevator came and the two of them stepped inside. Luckily, it was currently unoccupied. Ash pressed the button to take them to the basement.

"You can recall Eevee. I don't think that we're going to need it anymore."

"Okay," she said and grabbed Eevee's pokeball. "Return."

They came to the basement floor and the door opened. Stepping out, they found a short hallway with a door on either side of the corridor.

"It was left door, right?" Ash asked, unsure about a door.

"I think so…" May said.

They went to it and Ash turned the doorknob slowly. The door creaked as it was opened. The room inside was dark and filled with cages of varying sizes. When the door was fully open, Ash and May went in, closing the door behind them.

"Wonder where we can turn the lights on…" Ash pondered aloud, beginning to search for a lightswitch. Abruptly, a light went on and he turned around. May was standing next to a switch. "Oh, there…thanks," Ash smiled at her.

"You're welcome," she smiled back and looked around. The room was large and had many cells. "This basement is huge! How do we find them here…"

"You take that side, I'll take this side, OK?" Ash showed to her what side she would take.

"Why we just can't search together?" May spoke with a sad tone.

"It's faster to search this way," Ash remarked.

"Humph," the brunette coordinator crossed her arms. "You only want get rid of me, don't you?"

"May, stop saying stuff like that. You know that I don't." Ash calmed her down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But if we do this the fast way, we can be together sooner. Besides, we don't want to get caught in here."

"That makes sense," she replied. "All right then, I'll go to search that side."

They separated and started searching. The basement chamber was about 200 meters long and full of cells, which were mostly empty. The room had no heating, making the air feel icy-cold.

May shivered as she was walking through the area cell by cell. She hadn't spotted any pokemon yet, and it made her feel discouraged.

_'Isn't this great - I'm freezing in here and apart from Ash. Hope we find his pokemon soon that we can be together,'_ May thought while she took glances in every cell that she passed. _'In some warm place, like a beach or a hot spring - Yeah, in a private hot spring, that would be great. Only he and me, no one else. I have to suggest that for him…'_

After several minutes, May heard Ash shouting her name.

"Ash, where are you?!" She shouted back and start running towards the opposite side, where Ash should be. She ran like crazy until she saw her boyfriend, next to Pikachu. Ash turned to May and smiled.

"I found Pikachu," He cried as he took a look back to Pikachu's gate. "I also found five pokeballs. I believe that they are mine. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pikapi," the electric mouse nodded.

May went beside Ash and spoke to Pikachu.

"Nice to see you again, Pikachu."

"Pika!" It seemed also glad to see her.

"How do we get them out of there?" May asked to Ash. He studied the cell and pondered.

"We have to break it." He grabbed one of his pokeballs and called out Sceptile. "Can you use your Leaf blade to cut these bars?"

Sceptile nodded and its leaf started to glow. A silent crack came when it sliced through the bars. Pikachu jumped right away into Ash's arms when the broken bars dropped onto floor with a small clamour.

"I won't ever leave you again!" Ash tightly hugged his yellow pokemon. After that, he placed Pikachu on the floor and took off his backpack. "Wait a second, I should have Full Restore in here…"

While Ash was rummaging through his backpack, May heard some creaking.

"Ash, someone is coming!" She whispered silently that they wouldn't get caught.

Finally Ash found a Full Restore and sprayed it on Pikachu. Seconds later, it was back at full strength. Ash smiled at his pokemon and quickly grabbed the five pokeballs inside of the cell.

"We have to get out of here quick!" He put the five pokeballs into his pockets.

"You two! Don't move!" Someone saw them and was coming closer. "What are you doing in here?"

"We were just…checking up on a few things," Ash improvised as Pikachu moved behind his leg.

The grunt looked at him suspiciously and then he saw the broken cell. "What the…? Wait a second - You two aren't members of Team Rocket. You're intruders!"

Ash and May knew that they were caught. The grunt was about to set off an alarm, but Ash knew this was the time for action.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped into the air and shot an electric wave towards the grunt, shocking him into oblivion. Pikachu landed on Ash's shoulder.

"Quick, May!" Ash took her hand and started running. "We have to get out of here!"

They ran back to the elevator and hastily slipped inside.

"Now that we have my pokemon back," Ash began as he pressed a button in the elevator to first floor, "all we have to do is to figure out when Team Rocket is going to go through with their plan."

"How we are going to do that?" May asked as she stroked Pikachu, who was still on Ash's shoulder.

"I haven't really thought about that, either."

The elevator stopped on the main floor, opening into the main lobby area. "Guess we just have to ask where Giovanni is and that way, we could get something out."

There was almost no one in the lobby, with the single exception of a receptionist working behind a semicircular desk. Ash approached and began speaking.

"Excuse me, but do you know where the boss is?"

"The boss does not take visitors in non-emergency situations without an appointment," the woman explained to Ash. "What is your reason?"

"I have meeting with him, about some secret plan," he said in a disguised voice.

"Oh, in that case," the receptionist began and looked at her computer, "he is in his office on the top floor,"

"OK, thank you," Ash thanked. His group went back to the elevator and

headed to the top floor. Ash leaned against the wall and watched what floor they were on. May joined with him and was welcomed into his arms. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder onto the floor as he and May closed their embrace.

"Pika?" It stared at the two of them, feeling confused. Ash and May broke the embrace and started explaining.

"Look, Pikachu. Me and May are now together, as a couple," Pikachu's trainer explained.

"Is it OK with you?" May asked and began petting Pikachu again. It simply nodded and jumped on May's arms, nuzzling its head into May. "I take that as a 'yes'."

Ash was about to say something but suddenly, the elevator stopped. Red lights started twinkling and an alarm began wailing.

"What's wrong?" May panicked and tightly held Pikachu in her arms. Soon her question got answered.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! One male and one female suspect were spotted making an unauthorized transport out of the basement holding cells. Implement lockdown procedures immediately," the alarm's mechanical voice sounded over an intercom.

"They know that we're here!" May continued panicking and only tightened her hold on Pikachu. It couldn't take it anymore and let out sparks, making May quickly release it.

"Sorry, Pikachu," she apologized to the yellow creature which was catching its breath on the floor. The panicked girl quickly turned to her boyfriend. "Ash, what should we do? They'll get us!"

"Calm down, May. Panicking isn't helping," Ash said calmly. "We're half way to the sixth floor, though. We'll have to climb the rest of the way," he explained as he pushed off an emergency-exit panel from the roof of the elevator.

"What?!?" May blurted and looked up the shaft. "Do you really that I'm going to climb up there??"

"You have to!" Ash jumped, grabbed onto the ledge, and pulled himself out of the elevator. He managed to clamber into the shaft and soon Pikachu joined with him. May was still inside of elevator, arms crossed.

"Are you coming?" Ash asked her, but didn't get any reply. He let out a sigh as she looked away. "May, please. I don't want to do it, either, but this is only way."

"What if I fall? I'm not a very good climber," May sulked.

"I can carry you on my back and won't let you fall." Ash offered a hand to help her come up on elevator. "Trust me."

May took his hand and he pulled her up. "You don't have to carry me…" she quietly said.

"Are you sure?" Ash inquired.

"I think so…" She answered without certainty. "But if I fall, my legs can break or maybe I'd…"

"You can go first. And if you drop, I'll catch you," Ash placed his hand on her back. May looked him up with her deep blue eyes and turned to face him. Both leaned closer until their lips touched. Silence filled the whole shaft as they continued sharing love. Soon their kiss was broken and May pulled out, slowly opening her eyes. She only felt happier when she looked at her boyfriend

"I love you," May silently whispered.

"I love you, too," Ash whispered back and showed her the cable that they were about to climb. "Are you ready to go?"

"More than ever." She took hold on the cable and was ready to climb, but before that, she made sure about one thing. "Promise that you will catch me if I fall."

"I promise," Ash smiled warmly.

"Okay, then." May took a deep breath and started climbing, slowly but surely.

Soon Ash joined with her, Pikachu on his shoulder. Taking small moves, they get closer to the next level, where they could leave shaft.

May was tired of climbing and it showed in the way she was moving.

"May, we only need to go two more meters," Ash commented upon seeing her fatigue and encouraged her to continue, "I know that you can do it!"

She hardly kept pulling herself up as sweat dropped over her forehead. They were up two meters already and May's grip slowly started loosening.

"I can't do it!" she screamed and stopped climbing. Her grip loosened more and more, and she panicked. "I'm going to drop!"

"Hang on just little bit," Ash said a few feet below her. "You have to manage to get on that landing!"

May looked up and saw what he meant. In front of the elevator's door was a small space. Enough space that she and Ash could fit in there. Unfortunately, it seemed too far away.

"No, I don't have enough strength!" May shrieked and dropped one single tear. "Soon, someone'll come to check this shaft and catch us. And its all my fault."

"May, collect yourself!" Ash shouted to his tired girlfriend and took one of his pokeballs. "I hope this will work…"

He threw pokeball near the small landing and it opened, releasing bright light. A small green creature came into sight.

May blinked in bewilderment at what he was doing. "Why did you call your Bulbasaur?"

"Use your vines on May and help her with climbing," Ash commanded his pokemon, who took hold on May with its vines. With Bulbasaur helping her with climbing, they moved closer to the landing.

The rest of their way went easily, basically to May. She was now almost on the landing, but didn't know how to get there.

"How I should get over there?" She stopped climbing. The distance of the cable and the landing was one and a half meters. "It's too long for me to jump!"

"No, it's not. Bulbasaur will help you with that, don't worry," Ash said while climbing up.

"Are you sure that it can lift me?" May worried about falling. After Ash convinced her that it can do it, she let go of her grip. She dropped a negligible distance, but then Bulbasaur pulled her up onto the landing.

"That was scary." May let out a sigh of relief while getting up and soon took a look at Ash. "How are you going to come?"

"With Bulbasaur's help," he said and his pokemon took hold of him. When Bulbasaur was ready, he jumped down. A quick stop came for him and his pokemon started pulling him up. Ash helped himself up when he could and soon, he joined with May on the landing.

"Phew, that was hard." Ash wiped the sweat off his forehead and took Bulbasaur's pokeball. "You did a great job. Now take good rest." His pokemon smiled when he returned it.

"What now?" May asked her boyfriend who was still panting slightly. He placed the pokeball back onto his belt and looked at the door.

"We should get this opened," Ash suggested, trying to open the door with his bare hands

The door opened little bit, but not enough for them to get out of the shaft. Ash let go and the doors slammed shut. "Could you help me? If we try together, we could open it enough that we would be able to slip through."

May answered with a nod and took her hold on door the same way that Ash did. Together, they started opening the doors. With raw power, they managed to open the elevator door.

"I'll count on three and then we go to the other side, OK?" Ash made sure if she was ready. May again nodded as she held the door open with all her might.

"Three, two, one, go!" Both of them released their holds on the doors and went through the gap. No sooner were they through than the doors sealed up again.

"This is so crazy - We could have been flattened between those doors," May spoke while monitoring the corridor. Nobody was in sight. "Wonder where everyone is…"

"I'd guess most everybody's gone home for the night," Ash explained to her. "Good for us."

Soon, a door opened on the other side of the corridor. Ash quickly dragged May with him into a corner to hide. They hid themselves in there and remained silent. Footsteps came closer. Until they stopped right near Ash and May's hiding spot.

"Call elevator," a male voice commanded. A second later, a beep sound came as an elevator arrived and opened its doors.

"Are they still searching for us?" May whispered quietly to Ash, who was standing next to her.

"I think so," he whispered back. Just then, more whispering was heard.

"Dammit, they aren't in here!" A male's voice was shouting angrily. "Where could they be?"

"The lobby receptionist says that they asked her where the boss is," another male spoke.

"They did, huh?" an angrier male said. "So they are heading to the top floor. Collect all members there. We can't let them go in there, even if it takes some injuries to apprehend them, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the grunts said as they ended their conversation and footsteps were heard moving off.

"Ash, we can't continue anymore," May said, a small hint of fear in her voice. "They know that we're heading there."

"And they can't let us there. So something's going on here." Ash got up, May right behind him.

"But didn't you hear, 'Even if it takes some injuries to apprehend them?" She worried about them. "They can hurt us!"

"I know, and because of that, I think you should stay behind and wait for me." Ash let out words that May didn't want to hear.

"What?!? Do you remember what I said before??" She blurted out with a louder voice. "I won't do that!"

"Shh, May," Ash said with a lower voice than she did and spotted an air duct. "Wonder if that leads on in there…"

"Did you heard me? I won't leave you!" May grabbed onto his shirt as tears rolled out of her eyes. "Please, Ash, don't leave me alone!"

Ash placed his hand around her. "This is for the best. I don't want to risk you or anything. And besides, Pikachu is staying with you." The yellow electric mouse jumped off his shoulder onto floor. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me, just take care of yourself."

May was silent except for some sobbing. Ash broke his hold on her and went under the air shaft's entrance. He opened it and turned towards May and Pikachu.

"I'll be back soon." Before he could leave, his girlfriend broke her silence.

"Wait!" She ran to him and gave him the deepest kiss that she had ever given him. She didn't want to end it but knew that she had to. May leaned backwards and smiled warmly. "Please be careful."

"I will," he smiled back and took a glance at Pikachu. "And you keep May in safe hands, okay?" Pikachu nodded and jumped on May's shoulder. After that, Ash went into the air shaft and disappeared. May sighed as Pikachu jumped onto the floor.

"At least you're still here with me." May sat down and petted Pikachu who seemed to enjoy it. Quietly, a door opened at the end of the corridor. May didn't see it until someone spoke to her.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"


	9. Chapter 9

A low voice was heard as Ash was crawling inside the air shaft. He hoped to travel this way to the top floor, where something unusual was taking place. Ash went alone in air shaft, leaving May with his Pikachu in another room. There they would be safe for the time being.

Ash came to an intersection. One went left and another went right.

_'Wonder which direction is the right one…'_ He pondered as he looked both directions. 'I'm one level down from the top floor, so I have to get up at some intersection. There should be some way that go upward'

He finally decided to go right and continued crawling. _'With Pikachu, this would be easier but it has a more important job to do.'_

**With May and Pikachu**

May was still frightened by that voice. She couldn't see who was talking because of the darkness in that room. Pikachu went in front of May and let out sparks, warning this mysterious person not to come closer. This person didn't back up but only continued to come closer to May and Pikachu.

"May, it's me," a male's voice said, sounding close by. When he was close enough, May recognized him.

"Drew? What the heck are you doing in here?" she asked in a very surprised tone. Pikachu stopped sparking and jumped on May's lap.

"I was caught by Team Rocket." He sat down beside her. "But I managed to escape and heard that you're in this building, so I wondered if you need some help."

"Well, I really don't need any help right now, and even if I did, Pikachu would help me, isn't that right?" She petted Pikachu and it gave a nod. "By the way, why did you leave me and Ash at the Pokemon Center a few days ago?"

"Um… Like I said, Team Rocket caught me," Drew spoke a little nervously.

May, feeling suspicious, began firing off questions. "Why'd they capture you? And how did you managed to escape?"

"I can explain later," he said, hoping she'd forget to ask again later. "Can I ask where Ash is?"

"Oh, he went into the air shaft. Why do you ask?" May was stroking Pikachu's fur while talking.

"Just wondering why he left you back here. Anyone could come through the door and catch you. That's quite careless." Drew flicked his hair.

"Are you saying that he doesn't care about me?!" May snapped. Before he could answer, she continued. "If you must know, he is my boyfriend now. And he left me behind because he wanted me to be somewhere safe."

"Your boyfriend? You're with him??" Drew couldn't believe what she said.

"Yep. I suppose I should be thanking you." May placed Pikachu back to the floor, between her and Drew.

"Why?" He wasn't sure what she meant.

"If Ash and I hadn't had that weird misunderstanding, which your kiss caused, I wouldn't ever have told him my feelings," May sighed and closed her eyes. "But now I'm feeling like the happiest girl in the whole world."

May started telling her plans of what to do with Ash once their present heist was over, but Drew wasn't listening.

'This is worse than I thought - they are much closer now. It will be harder to separate them, but I have to do it…' Drew clutched his fist. 'I won't let that looser get May.'

"And maybe then we could go to the movies, watch some romance movie. I'm not sure if Ash would like it, though," May finished explaining. "What do you think, Pikachu? Would he come with me to romance movies?"

"Pika!" It nodded as an affirmative answer.

"Really? Well, alright, then!" May said with a big smile.

"You know what, May?" Drew broke his silence and stood up. "We should get out of here before someone comes."

"I won't leave Ash," May simply replied.

"You wouldn't be leaving him, just moving to a different place," Drew explained to her.

"Another room? Why? I though this room was safe…" She was unsure about Drew's claim and indulged her stimulated curiosity.

However, Drew was becoming annoyed by all of her questions and tried putting a stop to it. "I heard that every single room on this level is gonna be checked. Sooner or later, someone will find you. There is one room on the top floor that you'll be quite safe in."

"How do you know this? I heard that the top floor is under heavy surveillance…" May stood up, grabbing Pikachu on the floor.

"Um… I heard someone say that there's a secure room on the top floor. They said it's impenetrable, but we might find a way to sneak in."

He didn't convince May. "It's too risky. What if we got caught?"

"I promise that we won't," Drew said. May started thinking about it and turned to Pikachu.

"What do you think? We would be closer to Ash and could help him if he needs it." To answer, it nodded.

"Then it's decided." They made their way to the door, and after ascertaining that nobody was currently patrolling the hallway outside, began moving towards the top floor.

**With Ash**

Ash was still in the air shaft, searching for a way up. Crawling around in the air shaft, he slowly started to get frustrated. Once again, he came to an intersection.

This time, there was a ventilation duct going up. It was large enough that Ash could fit, and he could climb it if he kept his back, feet and hands tightly on the walls on the way up.

"Finally," Ash said in a low voice and stood. "Now I just have to climb up. Again, climbing…"

He got ready and slowly started climbing. Moving hands and legs one after another, he managed to climb a good way up. Sweat dropped as he strived to climb.

"Almost there," he mumbled and took hold on a corner. Pulling himself up, he managed to get through the top floor's air shaft. Ash panted. After catching his breath, he continued crawling.

_'Now I just have to find which room it is. That's easier said than done.'_

He peeked inside a room. There were many members of Team Rocket, talking about something. Ash eavesdropped while he recovered.

"This sucks," one of them complained. "We're gonna miss all the fun!"

"'Fun?'" another person spoke. "You don't even know what is happening in the laboratory!"

_'In the laboratory?'_ Ash thought, continuing his vigilant listening.

"I know that there are pokemon you don't see everyday in there," another person spoke. "Wonder if they already started…"

"I heard that they are doing some preliminary analysis of some data before they begin the real work."

'I wonder what's going on in the lab?' Ash was surprised by what he heard. 'Gosh, I should search that laboratory as soon as possible.'

He carefully crept out of his hiding spot and began searching for the lab mentioned by the grunts.

**Meanwhile with May and Co.**

May, Pikachu and Drew were walking up the stairs slowly, hoping they wouldn't get caught. Pikachu was listening to see if anyone was coming. They still had a way to go.

"I wonder how Ash is doing…" May asked with worry. "I hope he is alright."

"Pika.."

"I hope he will be gone," Drew mumbled under his breath.

"So Drew, how did you manage to escape?" May asked, remembering her earlier suspicion.

"Well..um…" Drew stumbled to figure out something. "A few guards were tired, so I took my chance and escaped."

"That sounded easy. But why did they capture you?"

"I don't know. Let's just stay quiet and hope nobody hears us, okay?" Drew told her and ended their conversation. Walking in silence, they arrived onto top floor. When Drew opened a door, two guard were on the other side of the corridor. They were watching different directions from the room, where May and Co. were heading.

"When I say 'now', you run into that room," Drew explained and May nodded. He made sure that the guards were still not looking their way. When everything was clear, he gave the signal. "Now."

The two of them started running towards the room, quietly. When they got in front of that room's door, Drew opened it quickly and they all went inside. They kept silent a moment to hear if someone was getting closer them. Nothing was heard and they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lucky they didn't see us." May then looked around the room. There were many different chemicals and machines. "What is this place?"

"The laboratory's storage room," Drew answered instantly. May, however, was distracted.

"Cool!" May exclaimed. She held a gold pokeball in her hands. "This is such a nice color, great for contests. Don't you think, Pikachu?"

"Pikakap!i" It nodded its head. May placed the ball back on its receptacle.

"There's so much cool stuff in here!" she exclaimed, before realizing something that cooled her cheery mood. "Too bad that Ash can't see this…"

"Now we just stay in here," Drew said, ignoring her last comment.

"Oh no! He's assuming that I'm still where he left me," May suddenly realized. "If he goes in there and can't find me, he's probably going to start searching for me. We didn't think this through!"

"Team Rocket would have found you if you'd stayed in there, so there was no choice but to move." Drew sat down on the floor and crossed his arms. "And if he doesn't come back for you, or can't, I can get you out of there."

"He will come for me. I know it." May sat down at the place where she was, a short distance away from Drew. "But something could happen to him. He is always having some problems. It would be my fault if he gets hurt!"

"Pika Pikachu…" the yellow pokemon tapped her on the back, trying to comfort her. Drew came closer to them.

"Thank you, Pikachu." A smile came on May's face. "It's true that trainers are like their pokemon."

"Yes, it is," Drew said. May nearly forgot about Drew's presence, so his statement spooked her.

"Gosh! How long have you been there?" Her pulse slowly returned to normal. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry. I just thought it would be safer if we're closer." The green haired boy was now half a foot away from her. "I didn't mean to freak you out like that."

"Um… I guess you're right," May mumbled. "But I think we're close enough."

"Ok." Drew stayed there, keeping a respectable distance from May. "You know what, you're looking beautiful today."

**With Ash in the air shaft**

Ash's knees were almost bleeding because all the crawling. He was still searching for the laboratory, feeling fatigued at this point. His whole day had been frustrating and searching for a laboratory in a large building wasn't helping at all. Ash didn't even know he was going in circles. The air shaft was like a maze, turns came right after another.

Ash came, once again, to another intersection. Looking at both ways, he decided to continue to the left.

_'I've been here for at least an hour and found nothing. How hard can it be to find a laboratory…'_ Ash crawled forward until something happened. He didn't notice until too late that a panel of the duct was missing, and he fell through the gap to the floor below. He quickly got back to his feet and blinked, wondering what happened. After his vision had finished adjusting to the new lighting conditions, he saw one large machine next to a weird, stone-like object.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" a voice called from behind him. Turning around, Ash saw who was talking. "You just can't stay away from here, can you?"

Ash could not mistake the identity of the Rocket Boss. After all, there was nobody who was shrouded in mystery quite like Giovanni.

"I know what it is you plan to do. You won't get away with it!" Ash shouted to the man who was standing about ten meters away from him. Giovanni only laughed.

"You think you're the one to do it? Oh, I'm quaking where I stand!" He stopped laughing, taking a look at Ash. "But you came here alone."

"If only someone would have listened to me, this would all be over already!" Ash again shouted. Behind Giovanni came a man, who was wearing a white coat.

"Everything is ready," the man told to Giovanni. An evil smile came to his face.

"Good. Wait for my signal," the boss said to the scientist, who nodded and sat down next to the large monitor. "Well, now. It seems you have a great opportunity to see the world's strongest pokemon. I would be grateful if I were you."

"But you aren't!" Ash grabbed one pokeball off his belt. "And I won't let you succeed in this."

"Hm. You're little too late. We got the last key yesterday, so you're too late," Giovanni calmly spoke. Ash gritted his teeth. Every word that Giovanni said only raised his anger.

"We'll see about that. Go, Sceptile!" Ash tried to release his pokemon out of the pokeball, but nothing happened. "What the…?"

"You remember when I told how we are going to capture Arceus? It is all thanks to this wonderous machine," Giovanni said, nodding towards the large machine. "It also transmits waves at such a frequency that they effectively deactivate the normal mechanics of an ordinary pokeball. Thus, you can't call any of your pokemon." A large, purple creature came from behind him.

Ash gawked at the sight. He didn't have any idea what to do. Giovanni smirked, turning away from Ash.

"All right, bring the fifth key!" Giovanni shouted to the man. He opened some kind of box and took the key, which was two feet long. The scientist walked past Giovanni, towards the other keys. As the scientist came closer, something came to Ash's mind.

"You can't fulfill that plan without one key!" He started running towards the scientist and tried to steal the key. He was a few meters away from him, when Giovanni used his pokemon.

"Nidoking, stop him with Hyper Beam!" The purple pokemon shot a bright, orange beam. Ash quickly stopped running as he saw it coming closer. The beam went past of him, slightly touching his body and impacted with the wall.

**Meanwhile May, Pikachu and Drew**

May blinked as Drew touched her hair. Soon she came to reality and slapped Drew's hand off.

"What are you doing?!" May shrieked. She stood up and took few steps away from him. Drew also stood up, and tried to explain, but May stopped him.

"You damn well know that I'm with Ash! You had your chance with me, and it's gone now!"

"What do you see in him!?" Drew shouted, slightly scaring May. "What makes him so darn special?!"

"I love him, that's what! There is a big difference!" May shouted back to him.

Drew gritted his teeth, and started walking towards May. Pikachu was confused by what was going on. Drew came closer to her every second, anger in his face. Terrified, May took a step back for each step Drew took towards her. Drew almost reached her, when an explosion came. Because of that explosion, Drew lost his balance and fell on the floor. After the smoke cleared, May saw what had happened. In the wall was a huge hole, and other side of that hole was her love.

"Ash!" May and Pikachu ran towards Ash, who blinked when he saw them on the other side of the hole.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked as May and Pikachu got to the laboratory's other side.

"We're-" May was about to say something but someone grabbed her arm. Turning around, she saw Drew, who very tightly held her arm. "Don't touch me!" May tried to escape his grasp, but he didn't let go, only tightening it.

"Drew?!? Let her go!" Ash shouted as he saw what he was doing to her. But still, Drew maintained his grip on his captive tightly. Drew took out of his pocket a knife, placing it against May's throat.

"One wrong move and she will die."

Ash was speechless. His girlfriend was in danger and he didn't know what to do. When Giovanni saw that Ash wasn't paying attention, he gave a sign to the scientist. The scientist nodded as he placed the key in the middle of the machine. Pushing the key deeper, a bright flash came, momentarily blinding everyone. Ash turned towards the scientist and the machine. Every key was glowing in it.

"Now it's just a matter of time," Giovanni laughed as the scientist ran to the computer.

"We only need to analyze it," the white-coated man said while typing something at the computer. "Then we'll be able to bring it in."

"And then we use our second machine," Giovanni continued. He turned towards Ash, who was still speechless and confused. "Too bad for you, kid. I was thinking to get rid of you first."

_'Is it really over? Did I betray everyone?'_ Ash though, and turned to May. 'May is in danger - because of me. I promised to protect her, but I failed…'

"Ash! Don't just stand there, do something! I believe in you, Ash!" May shouted. Ash snapped out of his trance, looking at her in confusion.

_'She believes in me - but how I can help her without putting her in harm's way? My pokeballs don't work in here as long that device is on…' _Seeing Pikachu, he got an idea. 'That's it!'

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Drew!" Pikachu's trainer commanded. The yellow pokemon's tail glow as it jumped into the air. Drew wasn't able to dodge it, and was too slow to be able to hurt May as the tail hit its mark. Falling to the floor, Drew was knocked out cold. This time, May was confused. She shook her head and start running towards Ash, but he stopped her.

"May, please, stay there!"

"Why?" May asked as she slowed her speed.

"Keep eye on Drew, in case he comes to." Ash looked back at Giovanni, who was smiling triumphantly. "This isn't over yet…"

"Face it!" Giovanni walked over to the computer where the scientist was typing something. "It looks like the project is thirty percent is done. Your time is ending."

_'Ugh… He can speak so irritatingly,'_ Ash bit his lip, making a plan in his mind. _'Wonder if I could pull out some of those keys. Then it won't finish analyzing. But can I take that risk?'_

Ash eyed Giovanni's direction and the whole laboratory. Next to Giovanni was his pokemon, its eyes fixed on him. The distance between Ash and the machine where the keys were was about ten meters. Ash and Giovanni's distance was twenty or more.

_'If I run to the machine, that Nidoking would hit me with Hyper Beam. And even if I reach there, Giovanni would catch me. I have to bluff them.'_

"Forty percent," Giovanni said, an evil smirk on his face.

_'Here goes, all or nothing…'_ Ash looked at Pikachu, and it somehow knew what he was thinking. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle on them!"

The electric Mouse started running towards the scientist, Giovanni and his Nidoking at full speed. When yellow, electric light surrounded Pikachu, Ash headed towards the keys. Giovanni was confused and didn't know what to do. If he commanded Nidoking to use Hyper Beam, Pikachu would hit them. And there was a risk it would hit the machines, too. Giovanni finally made his decision on what he would do.

"Nidoking, use your Protect!" A transparent shield surrounded all of them. Pikachu kept running until it made contact with the barrier. Ash gritted his teeth as Pikachu flew backwards, screaming in pain.

_'I'm sorry, Pikachu…'_ While running, Ash looked behind. May picked Pikachu up into her arms and then he knew it would be safe. He felt relieved and ran the last few meters.

"How much time is left?" Giovanni quickly asked the scientist as Nidoking's Protect faded away.

"Only thirty percent," the scientist answered. Giovanni looked at the keys. Ash managed to get there and took hold of one of the keys.

"You fool!" Giovanni exclaimed. "There is no way that you'll be able to pull it off, so give up already!"

Ash wasn't listening to him. He tightened his grip and slowly started pulling the key out. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to budge, which made Ash feel frustrated.

_'No. It can't end this way. If I can't get this off, then everyone's gonna be in trouble. Their dreams and everything…' _Thoughts of saving everyone gave Ash more incentive to succeed. Gritting his teeth tightly, he pulled the key. This time it moved, but only a few inches. He kept pulling.

The computer began sounding an alarm.

"This is bad."

Giovanni went beside the scientist and looked at the computer. "What is it?"

"One of the keys has been pulled from the machine." The scientist glanced at Ash and the key he was pulling. "I'm afraid that he managed to free that key. Analyzing won't continue until it's closed."

"That stupid, irritating brat…" Giovanni mumbled and started heading towards Ash. "I'll take care of him."

The trainer was trying to pull the key off with all his strength. Sweat dropped at his forehead as the half-meter long key was moved almost ten centimeters. All of Ash's strength was burned out and Giovanni was coming towards him. Ash decided to take a quick break, trying to collect some strength.

_'It shouldn't be much longer,'_ Ash panted, catching a look at Giovanni, who was coming closer. _'But I'm running out of time to do it.'_

Ash took hold of the key again and stopped panting. 'I have to pull this thing off, no matter what!'

Taking a deep breath, Ash prepared for his last chance. He quickly pulled, moving the key and suddenly electrical sparks started coming out of the machine, where all the keys were. Ash kept his hold on the key despite receiving small shocks.

"Ash! Get out of there!" May shouted, an unconscious Pikachu in her arms. "You can get hurt!"

But Ash wasn't listening to May and kept pulling. He was feeling terrible pain because of the shocks, but that didn't slow him down.

Giovanni was coming closer to Ash, with careful steps. The machine was still shooting off sparks and unfortunately for Giovanni, he got hit. Screaming in pain, Giovanni flew meters backwards, to where where the scientist was.

"What is happening?"

"One of the keys has been pulled from the machine completely," the loyal scientist said. "That key must be put back, or we'll never finish this."

Giovanni clutched his fist very tightly and slammed it against the table. "It can't be!"

Ash was still trying to get the key off as the electricity filled his body.

_'Only little bit more…'_ Ash's pain was only increased but he kept going. As the key moved, the machine started sparking more and more. By now, the sparks were starting to disrupt the mechanics of the room.

"This can't be good…" The scientist said in a low tone. "If that machine gets too much electricity, it might explode. We have to shut the power down."

"No!" Giovanni shouted. The scientist was about to continue but Giovanni stopped him. "You shut up and do something!"

May was watching in terror as her boyfriend was hurting himself. "Ash, please, get out of there!"

But again, Ash wasn't listening. His mind was fixed only on the key and getting that off. The key started moving much faster than before, and by then Ash knew it was out of there. Ash was relieved. Finally it would be over. The capturing machine next to him started making a weird noise. Ash pulled the key out and turned towards the machine, which continued its strange emission.

"What's wrong with that?" Ash asked confused and then he heard May's voice.

"Ash, get out of there!"

And without warning, the machine exploded. May, Pikachu and Drew flew many meters back because of the force of the explosion. Giovanni, his Nidoking and the scientist all hid under the table, which protected them. A few seconds after the explosion, May stood up and began coughing.

"What happened…" She looked around, feeling a little confused. The smoke from the fires filled whole laboratory. May tried to look through the smoke, but it was too thick to see anything. She started squeezing Pikachu harder when she didn't see her boyfriend. "Ash!? Ash!! Where are you!?"


	10. Chapter 10

Once the explosion had ended, a smoking crater remained. As the thick smoke was dispersing, May continued searching for Ash, but it was still difficult to see anything.

On the other side of the room, Giovanni and the scientist were getting back on their feet.

"What was that?" Giovanni coughed as he managed to get up. The scientist followed him and went to the computer.

"That's what I was warning you about." He started typing something in computer. He finished typing and took a deep breath. "This isn't good… Because analyzing wasn't completed, we won't be able to call Arceus."

"What?!" Giovanni shouted. "It can't be…"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Can't we place those keys back into the machine and start analyzing again?" Giovanni questioned, hoping to salvage the plan.

"I'm afraid those explosions irreversibly damaged the machinery. We could replace them, but it would take a long time to rebuild both machines to accomplish what we tried here today."

"How much time it would take?"

"I not entirely positive, but we might be looking at about five years minimum," the scientist said.

Giovanni bit his lip. Finally the smoke had entirely gone and everyone was able to see what all damages the explosion caused.

"I wonder where that kid disappeared to?" The scientist was looking around his ruined lab.

"Like I care. That plan was years in the making, and then he destroyed it in under ten minutes…" Giovanni looked around until he noticed that something was missing. "Where are the keys?"

The scientist took a look at the ruined machine's key slots, only to see them emptied. "Do you remember that ancient plate where we found with one of the keys?"

Giovanni nodded. "You said that it had an inscription regarding summoning the god pokemon, right?"

"Yes," the white-coated scientist said. "It also stated that once all the keys had been activated, they would have to remain so until the arrival of the legendary being. Otherwise, they would cease all functionality."

"So where are they now?! Are they totally gone?!" Giovanni shouted angrily.

"I guess that they are scattered around the world…"

"Great!" Giovanni slammed his fist to the table. "So now it seems that getting back on track is going to take even longer."

Suddenly, an announcement made note of the intruders. Giovanni tried to hear where they were heading and soon turned towards the scientist.

"Make ready the helicopter. The police'll be here any moment now." Team Rocket's boss looked at the roof. "No doubt somebody on the outside would have seen all that smoke."

The scientist picked up the lab phone and contacted the people on the roof. After a quick call, he replied to Giovanni, "The helicopter will be here soon."

"Good. We can't let ourselves get caught." Giovanni was calming down and called his Nidoking back to its pokeball.

Meanwhile, May was trying to search for her boyfriend. It was no easy task as she rummaged through the debris.

'Ash, where are you…?' A fear filled May as she moved small boulders aside. There wasn't any sign of Ash. She looked around her, trying to spot anything moving. But it was for nothing.

'Please be alright…' the concerned coordinator thought and kept searching.

Without warning, a wind began blowing hard and May turned around. A huge helicopter was on top of the building. Seconds later, ladders came down and Giovanni and the scientist ran over to them.

Giovanni started climbing up a ladder, but stopped when he saw the green-haired boy.

"Wait! Go and get that boy!" Giovanni shouted so that the scientist could hear him. The scientist blinked and turned around.

"Why?"

"He has the potential to be a member of Team Rocket," Giovanni explained and continued climbing.

The scientist sighed and headed towards Drew. Passing by many boulders and walking over broken glass, he came to Drew and crouched down. While the man was lifting the unconscious boy, he saw something behind the rock. His eyes were wide open. 'What have I done…'

Finally he got Drew on his shoulder, and started heading back to the ladders. The scientist was thinking about what he saw.

'It shouldn't go this far…' The white-coated man noticed May, who was trying to search desperately for Ash.

'Where are you…' May moved rocks aside, an unconscious Pikachu in her hands.

"Excuse me, you're searching that black-haired boy, right?"

May only nodded, not sure what he was up to. The man moved closer to her.

"He is behind those rocks," he whispered and pointed the way. May was confused first, but soon came back to reality.

"He is? Thank you!" The girl started running in the indicated direction.

'I'm sorry…' The scientist looked at her for a second and then headed to the ladders. He finally reached there and started climbing, Drew on his shoulder. After hard climbing, he got to the helicopter.

"What took so long?" His boss, Giovanni, asked.

"He's heavier than he looks, and that definitely had an impact on climbing the ladder," the panting scientist answered.

"Well, now you're in here, so let's go," Giovanni said to the pilot and they were off.

Back in the building, May was dodging all boulders and other obstacles as she approached the large pile of rocks. She peeked behind it. The boy that she was searching lay on the floor, motionless. May's eyes started flooding with tears as she ran next to her boyfriend.

"Ash!" She kneeled beside him and placed the unconscious Pikachu on the floor. "Ash, say something!"

But no reply came.

The fear inside of May increased, and tears kept coming. "Ash, please!"

Ash's blood was flooding the floor like a river. May didn't know what to do. Her boyfriend was badly hurt, and he was totally unaware of anything.

She slowly lifted Ash's head carefully.

"Please wake up," May whispered. "That's all I ask for…"

But still nothing - he didn't give any sign of living.

May burst out crying. "You can't-"

A loud voice interrupted May. Soon, the door was broken down by police.

About six people ran into the room.

"Dammit! Looks like they managed to escape," Officer Jenny said. She looked at the laboratory. The whole area was a mess. "What happened in here…"

"Look!" an officer said, and pointed at May. Wasting no time, they rushed over to her.

Once there, they saw she was not alone, but was the only one still conscious.

"What is-" Officer Jenny started, but May cut her off.

"Please, help him! He's lost a lot of blood!"

"Calm down," one of the policemen said to her, and kneeled down. "I'll see if I can't find a pulse."

"I'll call for an ambulance," Officer Jenny spoke and took a radiophone. After a quick talk, Officer Jenny spoke. "The paramedics are on their way. Did you find the pulse?"

May was keeping her eyes on Ash, as the police looked at him. Seconds later, he stood up.

"I-Is he o-okay?" May asked with fear in her voice.

"His pulse is really weak, I barely found it. We'd better get him to the hospital as soon as possible," the officer said in a low voice.

"Well, we'll just have to wait for the ambulance."

"'Have to wait'?!" May shouted, which surprised all of them. When she realized what she did, she apologized. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout."

"It's OK," Officer Jenny said, placing a hand on May's shoulder. "Waiting is all we can do right now."

Minutes later, three men ran into the room, bringing a stretcher with them. Officer Jenny waved so that they would see them.

"What is his condition?" One of them asked as they arrived.

"H-he's bleeding very badly and h-hasn't woken up," May answered.

The man looked at her and saw her concern. "Don't worry, everything will be alright."

May nodded slightly. The man gave her a smile and slowly moved Ash onto the stretcher. Soon he was lying at there, and two men lifted the stretcher.

"Let's hurry," one of the men said and they headed outside.

"Wait!" May called, and all of them stopped. "I-I'm coming too. I mean, he's my b-boyfriend, I h-have to be with him at moments like this…"

The man with free hands smiled slightly. "Sure, you're free to come."

May picked Pikachu up from the floor and ran after the men.

Outside of the building, it was still dark. The men lifted Ash into the ambulance, and a moment later May stepped in, too. They started heading to the hospital, as quickly as possible. May was keeping an eye on Ash, who was breathing very silently.

The hospital wasn't too far, and soon the ambulance arrived in front of it. May followed one of the men outside, and watched as the other two lifted Ash.

"Hurry!" They ran inside of the hospital, where a white-coated man was waiting for them.

"We'd better get him to the O.R. right away," the doctor said and the paramedics took the stretcher away.

May remained silent as she followed them. Thoughts about Ash and his condition were in her mind. 'He will be alright…'

"Excuse me, miss," a nurse said and stopped her. May looked at her and soon saw that the other ones went through a large door. She was about to say something, but the nurse spoke. "I'm afraid you can't go in there. Please wait here."

"What? I can't just wait in here! He needs me!" May shouted. Leaving Ash alone wasn't something she'd do willingly.

"You can't do anything to help him," the nurse said with a calm voice. "Come, let's take a seat."

May was thinking about what she said, that she can't do anything to help him. She sat next to the nurse.

"Tell me, do you know that boy?" the nurse asked. May didn't speak, but only nodded.

"You don't need to worry. He's in good hands." Again, May only nodded.

The nurse didn't know what to do. May was looking so sad, so depressed. Looking at her, the nurse saw Pikachu in her hands.

"Is that your pokemon? It doesn't look good…"

"No, this is A-Ash's…" May finally spoke and stroked Pikachu's fur.

"Ash is that boy?" The nurse asked. May nodded as an answer. "I can take that pokemon to the Pokemon Center, if you want to. It would be good to heal it."

"Are you sure?" May looked at Pikachu. It was true that it needed some healing. "OK. But make sure it'll be okay. This is Ash's first pokemon…"

"I will." The nurse stood up and took Pikachu. Soon, only May was left. She closed her eyes and crossed her hand to pray.

'Please, Ash, please be okay. I know you can do it, you've always pulled through. Don't give up now…' A few tears appeared from her eyes. 'Don't leave me alone in here. I can't do anything without you…'

The corridor was silent. May wasn't really paying attention until someone called her.

"May?" a woman's voice spoke. The coordinator turned towards the voice, seeing who was talking to her.

"C-Chloe?" May asked, feeling confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, my mom is working here and I forgot my keys, so I came to take hers so that I can get home." Chloe showed the keys and soon put them back into her pocket. "But what are you doing here? And this late at night?"

May didn't say anything, choosing instead to look at the floor. Chloe knew that everything wasn't alright, so she decided to sit next to her.

"May, are you OK?" Chloe asked carefully. She saw one thing what was missing. "Oh, by the way, where is Ash?"

May closed her eyes.

"A-Ash is…" May started, but it seemed painful to talk.

"Where is he?"

"H-he is… over t-there" May pointed the large door. Because Chloe's mother was working in the hospital, she knew what was behind that door.

"He's in surgery?" Chloe asked without certainty. All May did in response was nod. Chloe's eyes were wide open. "W-what happened?"

A tear dropped from May's eye. She started to tell what happened, with a very broken voice. "W-we were in T-team Rocket's base and…"

She talked about saving Ash's Pikachu and their trip to the top floor, and then she came to the laboratory part. She continued telling Chloe about the machines, and what happened in there.

"A-Ash was pulling o-out some kind of k-key…" Chloe was listening carefully to her every word.

"And then what happened?" Chloe asked. Tears rolled down May's cheek.

"H-he pulled the k-key off and then…" May started crying a little bit louder. "A-and then the machine e-exploded."

Chloe covered her mouth with one hand as she gasped. She was totally speechless.

"It all went so f-fast…" May continued. Speaking about what happened was causing her pain. "When I found him… H-he was b-bleeding really badly…"

"May…" Chloe started, but May didn't gave her a chance to continue.

"One of the police officers said that h-he had very w-weak pulse a-and…" This time, May burst out crying. Tears were flooding down, dropping on to her lap. "I-I can't l-live without h-him if h-he d-d-dies…"

"May," Chloe placed a hand on May's back. "Don't say that. No one truly dies."

May was still crying. All the pain inside of her was bursting out. Chloe gently stroked her back, trying to comfort her. But May didn't seem to comfort easily.

"It's all m-my fault… I could've helped h-him and not just stood there…"

"Blaming yourself isn't helping him," Chloe told to the crying girl. "You know Ash, he's strong. He will get through this."

"H-he promised that he w-won't leave me in h-here a-alone," May said between sobs.

"He won't leave you, trust me," Chloe comforted. This time, May seemed to respond. She wiped her eyes, clearing out the tears.

A moment of silence came, during which neither May nor Chloe said a word.

The seconds felt like hours as they waited for Ash's surgery to end.

A small yawn escaped from Chloe's mouth. She glanced the clock, which was on the other side of the corridor.

"Sorry, May," Chloe said, getting May's attention. "I have to go home. It's really late now and everyone is probably worried about me."

"Oh, okay." May's eyes were a little bit red because all that crying.

"Are you sure that you'll be fine?" a concerned Chloe asked and stood up. "I can call my parents and tell them that I'll be here, if you want."

"No. I'll be fine, don't worry." The brunette girl gave a weak smile. "You've done so much already. And thank you for that."

"That's what friend are for," Chloe said cheerfully, but her enthusiasm soon faded away.

"And don't worry about Ash. When you see him again, tell him I said hi and best wishes for a speedy recovery."

It still wasn't easy for May to talk about Ash. Her weak smile disappeared, and a gloomy look replaced it.

"OK, I will…" May got the words out of her mouth. Chloe was looking at her suspiciously. She didn't feel convinced that May was quite alright.

"Well then, bye. See you later."

"Bye," May said. Chloe walked away and soon the whole corridor was empty - only May remained. There was silence, broken only by the ticking of a nearby clock.

'Why is it taking so long…' the tired brunette thought. 'Maybe something has happened in there… No, don't think like that. Ash is fine. He must be…'

Suddenly, the large door opened. A white-coated man walked out of there, holding some kind of paper. May turned towards the man, who was walking towards her.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Brown," the man said with calm voice. "I've heard you've been waiting to see about Mr. Ketchum's condition."

"Is he alright?" May asked as she quickly stood up. The doctor went silent and looked at his papers.

"There were a few broken bones, his internal viscera had taken some slight injury, and he lost quite a bit of blood."

"I-Is h-he de-dead?" May asked gravely as tears appeared from her eyes.

The doctor gave a warm smile. "No, he is very much alive. His condition isn't the best but he will survive."

"He's okay, then…" May whispered to herself. She felt totally relieved. The news that Ash will be alright was all she needed to hear.

"Thank you," she said to the doctor, who was smiling. "Can I see him?"

"Unfortunately, I think he's still out. Just as well, he needs his rest."

"Oh," May said disappointedly. Doctor Brown saw her disappointment.

"But I don't think that one peek could hurt…" He started, catching May's attention. "You can peek at him from the window, if that will take some weight off your shoulders."

"Really? I can see him?" May exclaimed.

The doctor nodded. "Just follow me,"

The two of them went through the large door, through which there were more rooms.

May read a few signs while they were walking. There were many rooms made for a surgical unit. They came to sign that read 'Recovery Rooms'.

"This way," the doctor said, showing a door to May. She followed the doctor as they went through the door. Beyond that door, another array of chambers.

"How many rooms are there?" May asked.

"Enough that we could easily get lost," the doctor chuckled as they walked. "These are the recovery rooms, where patients recuperate following their procedures."

"So Ash is in recovery now?" May pondered.

"Exactly. His surgery was long and difficult, so he definitely needs some rest," the wise doctor explained. "But we only keep him at here for a short time. He will be moved to the rehab unit when he wakes up and we feel he's recovered enough."

"Okay," May said with a weak smile on her face. But soon after that, she let out yawn.

"You should get some sleep. I can show you to the waiting room, and you can rest there," the doctor offered.

May nodded. "Right after I've seen that Ash is fine."

"OK, then." Doctor Brown stopped walking, May right after him. "Well, here we are."

They stopped in front of a big window. May looked through the window, and saw her boyfriend. Ash was lying on the bed, connected to several machines.

"Ash…" May silently whispered. Her eyes started watering when she saw that Ash was breathing almost normally. Her worries started vanishing.

"We'd better go now," the doctor told her.

"Wait. What's with all that machinery he's hooked up to?" May asked the doctor, who looked at what she was pointing to.

"With those machines, we can watch his pulse, monitor his IV fluid intake, and all that other good stuff. You don't need to worry," the doctor explained to May. "Let's go find that room."

"Right." May took one last look on Ash and whispered, "See you soon, Ash…"

May followed the doctor, a smile on her face. Now she could sleep peacefully, not needing to worry about Ash so much.

The next morning came. May was already up at the room where she spent the night. She was waiting impatiently for the chance to see Ash again.

Someone knocked on the door Doctor Brown stepped inside.

"Good morning," the doctor greeted with a friendly smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Honestly, I was little worried about Ash and how he's doing. But I did get some sleep after all," the brunette answered. "Oh, can I see Ash now? You said that I can see him right after he woke up."

"Of course you can!" the still-smiling doctor said. A smile grew on May's face too. "We just moved him, so you're free to see him. Follow me."

May did as he told and followed him.

Only a few minutes later, they stopped in front of a room.

"Ash is in that room," Doctor Brown pointed out. "I have a meeting to go to, but I'll see you later."

"Okay," May said as the doctor walked away.

May turned the doorknob and slowly opened it. She peeked inside.

"May?" A weak voice called to her. May's eyes started to water when she saw her boyfriend, who was lying on the bed. May closed the door and almost ran next to Ash's bed. Before knowing it, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace.

"Ash, I'm so glad that you're okay!" The tears of joy flooded from May's eyes onto Ash's shoulder.

Ash was wincing from the pain that May caused by hugging him. He however ignored that pain and moved his arms around May. "Are you OK?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," May sobbed and kept hugging the trainer.

"May, don't take this a wrong way, but can you let go? That kinda hurts," Ash said to her and she immediately released him.

"Sorry," May apologized right after letting go. "It's just that I've could have lost you and-"

"But you didn't," Ash responded quickly. May sighed and sat down on the chair which was next to Ash's bed.

"You don't know how glad I am about that," May weakly smiled. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Terrible. The ache in my head is awful and I feel a pain everywhere in my body." May felt bad for him. "But I get some medicine which eases the pain, so that helps."

"That's good. I don't want to see you suffering." May's gaze went to the floor.

"May…" Ash said to May, getting her attention. "Can you tell me what happened? Did Team Rocket manage to get Arceus?"

"No, they didn't." She started recounting what happened. "When you pulled that key off, the machines exploded."

"Exploded?" Ash asked in confusion. "I don't remember any explosions…"

"Well, there was an explosion and you were right beside the machines when it happened…" May's face became gloomy. "After that explosion, the whole laboratory was ruined. There was debris everywhere and you were missing for a time…"

Ash was listening to May carefully. He could see her gloomy face with some tears coming from her eyes.

"When I finally found you, y-you were bleeding so much and you barely breathed. Luckily, the police came, and soon after the paramedics got you."

May wiped her tears off and continued. "Then we got you in the hospital and you went straight to surgery. And now you're here."

"You've been through a lot," Ash silently said.

"It was hard, but now everything is fine." May gave him a smile. "You know, everyone should thank you."

"Why's that?" Ash asked.

"You saved the world, Ash. You stopped Team Rocket from realizing their goal."

"No, it wasn't only me," he started. "If it wasn't for you, May, I wouldn't have had the strength to continue. And, of course, Pikachu helped, too."

When he mentioned his pokemon, he looked around the room, trying to find the mouse.

"Speaking of, where is Pikachu?"

"At the Pokemon Center. Don't worry about Pikachu, it's fine," May answered. "Ash, do you really think that I helped you?"

"Certainly, May. The world owes you thanks as well." Ash warmly smiled. His girlfriend couldn't take it anymore. May sat up and threw her arm around Ash's neck again.

"May, what's wr-"

Before Ash could finish his sentence, May had him lip-locked. They shared a deep kiss, with lots of passion to it. Ash felt some discomfort, but it was nothing in comparison to his love of May.

Finally, May pulled off, breaking the kiss. Their lips were still almost touching as May looked deep into Ash's eyes.

"I love you now and always, Ash," May whispered.

"And I will love you forever, May," Ash whispered back. The brunette girl was about to cry. She broke her hold on Ash's neck and sat down.

"May," Ash said to catch her attention.

"Yeah?"

"Well, if you could, can you bring Pikachu here?" Ash started. May was looking him with an odd look. "I mean, I should apologize for what I did to it and…"

"Don't worry, Ash. I can bring it." May smiled widely and stood up. "The Pokemon Center isn't far away, and I'm sure that Pikachu wants to see you, too."

"Thank you," Ash responded. May leaned over him and kissed him once more.

"No problem," she whispered and started walking away. She opened the door and was about to go out.

"Wait, May!" Ash's voice called. She turned back.

"Do you need something?" May asked.

"It's just… Come back quickly…" Ash said with a low voice.

May could only smile. "I'll be back before you know it."

She closed the door behind her, leaving Ash alone in the room.

Ash was lying on his bed, looking to the roof. 'Thinking about it, this journey wasn't so bad. Everything ended so well…'

Ash suddenly winced as a jolt of pain shot through him. 'Excluding my injuries…'

He closed his eyes and let his thoughts run in his mind. 'But May's presence is the most powerful medicine now…'

Before knowing it, he drifted to sleep, with a wide smile on his face.


End file.
